Nearly 20 percent of the world’s gold supply is produced by workers in artisanal and small-scale gold mining shops that purify gold by burning off mercury. Argonne National Laboratory and the Environmental Protection Agency have teamed up to stop this mercury where it starts.
As if holiday travel isn't stressful enough. Now University of Michigan researchers say we're likely sharing that already overcrowded airline cabin with countless tiny creatures including house dust mites.
As governments, industry and public interest groups from across the globe prepare to meet next week to discuss endocrine-disrupting chemicals and other international chemical safety issues, the Endocrine Society and IPEN released a new guide documenting the threat endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) pose to human health.
Using a new imaging technique, National Institutes of Health researchers have found that the biological machinery that builds DNA can insert molecules into the DNA strand that are damaged as a result of environmental exposures. These damaged molecules trigger cell death that produces some human diseases, according to the researchers. The work, appearing online Nov. 17 in the journal Nature, provides a possible explanation for how one type of DNA damage may lead to cancer, diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular and lung disease, and Alzheimer’s disease.
Scientists using a microbe that occurs naturally in eastern cottonwood trees have boosted the ability of willow and lawn grass to withstand the withering effects of the nasty industrial pollutant phenanthrene.
In recent years, scientists have linked chemicals known as phthalates with complications of pregnancy and fetal development.
Triclosan is an antimicrobial commonly found in soaps, shampoos, toothpastes and many other household items. Despite its widespread use, researchers at University of California, San Diego School of Medicine report potentially serious consequences of long-term exposure to the chemical.
Air pollution may play a role in the development of kidney disease.
Though no one would call the Ebola pandemic a good thing, it has presented an opportunity for scientists to alert the public about the dire need to halt the spread of infectious diseases, especially in developing and densely populated areas of the world.
Researchers are now trying to identify upstream factors that could explain the increase
Energy use in buildings accounts for nearly two-thirds of the greenhouse gas emissions generated in Detroit, while exhaust from cars, trucks and buses is responsible for about 30 percent of the total, according to a new citywide inventory compiled by University of Michigan student researchers.
After releasing the results of a new study detailing the dangers of laundry detergent pods, researchers are calling for a national product safety standard in an effort to better protect children. The study showed that during a two year period, there were more than 17,000 children exposed to the highly concentrated chemicals in laundry detergent pods. That’s a child every hour.
Asthma caused or worsened by living near major roadways cost Los Angeles County more than $441 million in 2007 alone, according to a new peer-reviewed article by researchers from the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the University of Southern California and the University of Basel, Switzerland.
A genetically diverse mouse model is able to predict the range of response to chemical exposures that might be observed in human populations, researchers from the National Institutes of Health have found. Like humans, each Diversity Outbred mouse is genetically unique, and the extent of genetic variability among these mice is similar to the genetic variation seen among humans.
The most obvious effects of too much sun exposure are cosmetic, like wrinkled and rough skin. Some damage, however, goes deeper—ultraviolet light can damage DNA and cause proteins in the body to break down into smaller, sometimes harmful pieces that may also damage DNA, increasing the risk of skin cancer and cataracts. Understanding the specific pathways by which this degradation occurs is an important step in developing protective mechanisms against it.
Study by Amy Kalkbrenner and colleagues shows that pollution's impact on autism rates in North Carolina is similar to results of previous pollution autism studies in California.
A new study in human placenta provides the strongest evidence to date that Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals (EDCs) can interfere with thyroid hormone action in pregnant women. The implication is that flame retardant chemicals called polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can infiltrate the placenta during pregnancy and affect thyroid hormone activity at the cellular level, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Although office ergonomics training programs have been shown to improve employee well-being and productivity, in many cases training occurs only after complaints are logged.
A new study suggests that drops of fuel spilled at gas stations — which occur frequently with fill-ups — could cumulatively be causing long-term environmental damage to soil and groundwater in residential areas in close proximity to the stations.
Rates of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest are elevated after days with high levels of air pollutants, reports a Japanese study in the October Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, official publication of the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine (ACOEM).
Four substances have been added in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 13th Report on Carcinogens, a science-based document that identifies chemical, biological, and physical agents that are considered cancer hazards for people living in the United States. The new report includes 243 listings.
Americans love their dogs, but they don't always love to pick up after them. And that's a problem. Dog feces left on the ground wash into waterways, sometimes carrying bacteria — including antibiotic-resistant strains — that can make people sick. Now scientists have developed a new genetic test to figure out how much dogs are contributing to this health concern, according to a report in the ACS journal Environmental Science & Technology.
An article in the October issue of Annals of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology, explores the case of a woman who suffers from asthma, and, along with her doctor, realizes that by changing her bike route to and from work every day, she can cut down on the pollution to which she’s exposed, thereby improving her asthma symptoms.
In a paper published this week online in Global Society, researchers with University of California, San Diego School of Medicine and the Urban Studies and Planning Program, also at UC San Diego, present a bioregional guide that merges place-based (territorial) city planning and ecosystem management along the United States-Mexico border as way to improve human and environmental health.
A team of researchers from McGill University and the Quebec government have discovered microplastics (in the form of polyethylene ‘microbeads,’ less than 2 mm in diameter) widely distributed across the bottom of the St. Lawrence River, the first time such pollutants have been found in freshwater sediments.
The number of extremely hot days in Eastern and Midwestern U.S. cities is projected to triple by mid-century, according to a new study. In presenting their synthesis, the study authors seek to encourage efforts that benefit both the health of the planet and the health of people.
There's an old saying: "Don't drink the water." But a UF/IFAS scientist warns Americans not to drink water from plastic bottles if it's been sitting in a warm environment for a long time. Lena Ma led a research team in China that examined 16 bottled water brands at 158 degrees for four weeks.
A study has pinpointed the likely source of most natural gas contamination in drinking-water wells associated with hydraulic fracturing, and it’s not the source many people may have feared.
In a recent publication, toxicity in zebrafish larvae was investigated from exposure to mixtures and multiple stressors. Mixtures included exposure to all combinations of four PAHs, with the additional stressor of ultraviolet light leading to phototoxic effects. The results indicated all PAHs were phototoxic and the mixtures mechanism of toxicity was additive. Data were compiled and a predictive toxicity model was developed.
Despite the fact that traditional cigarette consumption has been on the decline in the United States since the mid-1970s, the use of electronic cigarettes, or “e-cigarettes,” among adults and teenagers is becoming more and more prevalent. These devices are regularly marketed as a safe alternative to smoking conventional cigarettes, and are promoted as smoking cessation aids, similar to nicotine patches and nicotine gum. However, e-cigarettes are becoming increasingly scrutinized by health experts and regulatory agencies and there are an increasing number of questions surrounding these safety claims, particularly in regard to exposure among teenagers and young children. This article explains the known and anticipated risks of e-cigarette use, as well as the potential for accidental ingestion of liquid nicotine by small children.
A comprehensive new analysis released today says that nearly half (49%) of all recent tropical deforestation is the result of illegal clearing for commercial agriculture. The study also finds that the majority of this illegal destruction was driven by overseas demand for agricultural commodities including palm oil, beef, soy, and wood products. In addition to devastating impacts on forest-dependent people and biodiversity, the illegal conversion of tropical forests for commercial agriculture is estimated to produce 1.47 gigatonnes of carbon each year—equivalent to 25% of the EU’s annual fossil fuel-based emissions.
In the August 28 issue of the journal Nature a multi-institution research network called modENCODE (the Model Organism ENCylopedia Of DNA Elements) published three major papers that map and compare the genomes and epigenomes of humans and two model organisms, the fly, D. melanogaster, and the worm, C. elegans, in unprecedented detail. The fly and worm could serve as model organisms for screening drugs and micronutrients that might alter the epigenome, which is implicated in many diseases.
The UALR Professor and Chair of Chemistry examines the cycling of mercury through soil and water as it impacts atmospheric loadings in a recently published peer-reviewed journal article.
Black carbon pollutants from wood smoke are known to trap heat near the earth’s surface and warm the climate. A new study led by McGill Professor Jill Baumgartner suggests that black carbon may also increase women’s risk of cardiovascular disease.
Handwashing with antibacterial soap exposes hospital workers to significant and potentially unsafe levels of triclosan, a widely-used chemical currently under review by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, according to a study led by researchers from UC San Francisco.
Men, women and children exposed to high levels of phthalates - endocrine-disrupting chemicals found in plastics and some personal care products – tended to have reduced levels of testosterone in their blood compared to those with lower chemical exposure, according to a new study published in the Endocrine Society’s Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).
Virginia Tech researchers who were using a disinfectant when handling mice have discovered that two active ingredients in it cause declines in mouse reproduction.
A group of environmental health researchers, led by Penn's Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) published recommendations for public health research associated with unconventional natural gas drilling operations.
As the Food and Drug Administration mulls over whether to rein in the use of common antibacterial compounds that are causing growing concern among environmental health experts, scientists are reporting today that many pregnant women and their fetuses are being exposed to these substances. They will present their work at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society.
A plastic sponge that sops up the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2) might ease our tranisition away from polluting fossil fuels to new energy sources like hydrogen. At the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society, a researcher will describe a relative of food container plastics that could play a role in President Obama’s plan to cut CO2 emissions. The material might also someday be integrated into power plant smokestacks.
The pursuit of true happiness can lead people to lifestyles that will not only be satisfying but will be better for the environment, according to an overview of psychological research presented at the American Psychological Association’s 122nd Annual Convention.
When we think of ill effects from lead exposure various neurologic problems usually come to mind. Now researchers at the University of Michigan say another health impact can be added to the list: obesity.
The varying health risks from exposure to natural uranium are well established, but Diane Stearns, professor of biochemistry at Northern Arizona University, and her team have identified a new target organ for uranium exposure: skin.
Between 2002 and 2013, rip currents were involved in 85 deaths and 256 rescues in the Great Lakes. But this still hasn’t changed the common misperception that rip currents are only a threat in the ocean. Currently, the lakes’ only safety measures against rip currents rely on observation of factors like wave heights and water levels. UW-Madison professor Chin Wu says it's possible to anticipate them based on possible causes in weather, the current’s interaction with structures along the shore, and formations in the sea floor and sandbars.
Children and fetuses are the most at risk from neurological and biological damage that results from microwave radiation emitted by wireless devices, due to the higher rate of absorption of microwave radiation by children than by adults.
As production of shale gas soars, the industry's effects on nature and wildlife remain largely unexplored, according to a study by a group of conservation biologists published in Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment on Aug. 1.
The Kavli Foundation Lecture series features two prominent scientists: one in the booming area of ionic liquids, the other in medical materials. The former has made a novel compound with the potential to lower the energy it takes to capture carbon dioxide. The latter has engineered tissues and medical materials such as a stretchy glue that could transform surgery. They are presenting at the 248th National Meeting & Exposition of the American Chemical Society.
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