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Banned toxic chemicals in Australian everyday products

Australia's leading consumer advocacy organisation CHOICE says an investigation has revealed that many chemicals freely available in Australia are no longer registered in Europe because of safety concerns.

13 May 2009

Countries move toward more sustainable ways to roll back malaria

The United Nations Environment Programme and the World Health Organization, in partnership with the Global Environment Facility, today announced a rejuvenated international effort to combat malaria with an incremental reduction of reliance on the synthetic pesticide DDT.

6 May 2009

Certain ecologic factors increase bladder cancer risks

Persons drinking well water (as opposed to public supply) may be at an increased risk of bladder cancer, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham.

26 Apr 2009

Exposure to combination of two pesticides increase risk of Parkinson's by 75 percent

The fertile soil of California's Central Valley has long made it famous as one of the nation's prime crop-growing regions.

22 Apr 2009

Exposure to Agent Orange increases risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer

Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at increased risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer, researchers report.

20 Apr 2009

Researchers show how PCBs may alter in utero, neonatal brain development

In three new studies - including one appearing online in the Public Library of Science - Biology (PLoS - Biology) - UC Davis researchers provide compelling evidence of how low levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) alter the way brain cells develop.

13 Apr 2009

Killing older mosquitoes is a more sustainable way to control malaria

Killing only older mosquitoes could be a more sustainable way of controlling malaria, and has the potential to lead to evolution-proof insecticides that never become obsolete, according to an article in this week's issue of PLoS Biology.

6 Apr 2009

Researchers examine medical effects of bed bugs and control and eradication strategies

A review of previously published articles indicates there is little evidence supporting an effective treatment of bites from bed bugs, that these insects do not appear to transmit disease, and control and eradication of bed bugs is challenging, according to an article in the April 1 issue of JAMA .

1 Apr 2009

Time of conception linked to birth defects in U.S.

A study published in the April 2009 issue of the medical journal Acta Paediatrica is the first to report that birth defect rates in the United States were highest for women conceiving in the spring and summer. The researchers also found that this period of increase risk correlated with increased levels of pesticides in surface water across the United States.

30 Mar 2009

Gulf War veterans display abnormal brain response to specific chemicals

A new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center researchers is the first to pinpoint damage inside the brains of veterans suffering from Gulf War syndrome - a finding that links the illness to chemical exposures and may lead to diagnostic tests and treatments.

22 Mar 2009

World experts meet in Australia to find ways to wipe out malaria

Australia is host to a meeting of World health experts which aims to find ways of eradicating malaria, one of the world's most dangerous killer diseases.

9 Feb 2009

Climate changes in Australia will increase dengue fever

As global warming raises concerns about potential spread of infectious diseases, a team of researchers has demonstrated a way to predict the expanding range of human disease vectors in a changing world.

29 Jan 2009

Experts suspect dengue mosquito is resistant to pesticides

With the number of confirmed dengue fever cases in north Queensland now thought to be in excess of 200, experts are concerned that the mosquitoes responsible for spreading the disease may have developed a resistance to pesticides.

27 Jan 2009

Water pollution linked to male fertility problems

New research strengthens the link between water pollution and rising male fertility problems.

19 Jan 2009

Prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants linked to higher BMI in toddlers

A new study reveals an association between prenatal exposure to environmental pollutants and elevated body mass index (BMI) during the first three years of life, as reported in the January 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP).

15 Jan 2009

California's rise in autism cases

A study by researchers at the UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute has found that the seven- to eight-fold increase in the number children born in California with autism since 1990 cannot be explained by either changes in how the condition is diagnosed or counted - and the trend shows no sign of abating.

9 Jan 2009