Climate Change News and Research

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Leishmania adaptation to environmental changes results from frequent chromosomal amplifications

Leishmaniasis is an important human and veterinary disease caused by Leishmania parasites that affect 12 million people in over 98 endemic countries. The disease is now emerging in Europe due to climate change and massive population displacement.

23 Nov 2017

Climate change makes it difficult for sun’s UV rays to kill pathogens

Increasing organic runoff as a result of climate change may be reducing the penetration of pathogen-killing ultraviolet (UV) sunlight in inland lakes, rivers, and coastal waters, according to a new study in the journal Scientific Reports.

2 Nov 2017

Climate change is already affecting health, warn experts

Experts have warned that climate change is already having a significant worldwide impact on people’s health by increasing exposure to heatwaves, pollution and the spread of disease.

1 Nov 2017

Seafood quality may not be adversely affected by future ocean acidification, global warming

The eating qualities of UK oysters may not be adversely affected by future ocean acidification and global warming, new research has suggested.

31 Oct 2017

Postcard from Canada: In the land of single-payer, Bernie Sanders gets hero’s welcome

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wasn't scheduled to come onstage to talk health care until after 11 a.m. But college students started lining up as early as 5 a.m. — the Sunday morning of Halloween weekend, no less — in the hopes of scoring what appeared to be the weekend's hot ticket.

31 Oct 2017

UC study reveals metamorphic adaptation of certain spadefoot toads in response to climate change

Deep within aquatic ecosystems all over the world, certain toad species have managed to survive warmer and drier climate change. But the method behind their metamorphic adaptation to environmental change over time has long puzzled scientists -- until now.

28 Oct 2017

AJPH supplement focuses on how climate change impacts public health

In the American Public Health Association's Year of Climate Change and Health, the American Journal of Public Health will release a special supplement focused on climate change and its effect on public health.

27 Oct 2017

Cassava could partially replace wheat flour in bread to prevent scarcity

In coming decades, the rise in global temperatures owing to climate change may hinder the production of wheat in many temperate regions where the crop is grown today. The raw material for bread, one of the world's most consumed foods, may become scarce and more expensive as a result.

25 Oct 2017

Researchers discover mechanism that corrects protein misfolding in plants

Various human nervous system diseases, such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Alzheimer's, Huntington's, and Parkinson's diseases, are associated with the same basic disorder: the loss of nerve cells capacity to fold their proteins correctly, which causes protein aggregations that form "clumps" that end up generating the cell death.

25 Oct 2017

Zika virus outbreak in Ecuador worsened by El Niño and 2016 earthquake

A Zika virus outbreak in coastal Ecuador in 2016 was likely worsened by a strong El Niño and a magnitude 7.8 earthquake that struck the region in April, according to a new study.

12 Oct 2017

Study reveals impact of changes in temperature, air pressure on heart failure patients

Could decreases in temperature cause heart failure and death? An increase in hospitalization and death in elderly patients with heart failure could be associated with changes in temperature and atmospheric pressure, according to a new study in Environment International.

26 Sep 2017

Violent crime rates found to be higher during warmer months

Among police officers, there's a maxim: Being a cop gets a whole lot busier when it's hot out. Now, a study by a pair of Drexel University researchers appears to back them up.

26 Sep 2017

Immune response to parasite varies depending on what time infection occurs, study shows

Does the time of day matter when our body is infected by a parasite? According to new research from McGill University, it matters a great deal.

11 Sep 2017

Research program focuses on risks that threaten entire future of humanity

What risks threaten the entire future of humanity within the next hundred years? And what should we do to protect against them? A group of researchers will take on these questions in the autumn as part of the research program Existential risk to humanity at Chalmers University of Technology and the University of Gothenburg in Sweden.

4 Sep 2017

Substitution of gasoline for ethanol in dual-fuel vehicles increases level of polluting nanoparticles

When ethanol prices at the pump rise for whatever reason, it becomes economically advantageous for drivers of dual-fuel vehicles to fill up with gasoline.

28 Aug 2017

Zika suppresses immune system during pregnancy to harm baby, report researchers

Scientists from the University of Southern California (USC) have discovered that the Zika virus works by suppressing a pregnant woman’s immune system so that the virus can spread and increase the chance of harming an unborn baby.

22 Aug 2017

New biomarkers for early Lyme Disease identified

A team of researchers led by Colorado State University has developed a test to facilitate early diagnosis of Lyme Disease, which it is hoped will improved treatment outcomes. Until now, it was difficult to distinguish Lyme disease from similar, less severe tick-borne conditions.

18 Aug 2017

Einstein researchers receive three NIH grants to protect against deadly viruses

The NIH has awarded Einstein researchers three grants totaling more than $12 million to protect against three deadly viruses--Ebola, Marburg and hantavirus.

11 Aug 2017

Desert lessons show how to survive severe dehydration that causes kidney injury

Millions of people die every year from dehydration as a result of exposure and illness. In humans, even the most minor dehydration can compromise the kidneys causing lifelong, irreparable issues or even death.

10 Aug 2017

Extreme heat exposure may have adverse effects on pregnant women and their babies

Pregnant women are an important but thus far largely overlooked group vulnerable to the effects of extreme heat linked to climate change, according to new research by Sabrina McCormick, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health at Milken Institute School of Public Health at the George Washington University.

8 Aug 2017