Air Pollution News and Research

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Air pollution, poverty significantly lower IQ in children

Children born to mothers experiencing economic hardship, who were also exposed during pregnancy to high levels of PAH (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons), scored significantly lower on IQ tests at age 5 compared with children born to mothers with greater economic security and less exposure to the pollutants.

30 Apr 2015

Adult survivors of preterm births at higher risk of developing COPD

Adult survivors of preterm births may have a lung capacity that resembles the healthy elderly or casual smokers by the time they reach their early 20s, according to a University of Oregon study.

30 Apr 2015

Study: Long-term exposure to air pollution can damage brain structures, impair cognitive function

Air pollution, even at moderate levels, has long been recognized as a factor in raising the risk of stroke. A new study led by scientists from Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Boston University School of Medicine suggests that long-term exposure can cause damage to brain structures and impair cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults.

24 Apr 2015

Children riding school buses with cleaner fuels and technologies experience better lung development

Use of clean fuels and updated pollution control measures in the school buses 25 million children ride every day could result in 14 million fewer absences from school a year, based on a study by the University of Michigan and the University of Washington.

24 Apr 2015

Children exposed to adverse childhood experience more likely to develop asthma

Robyn Wing, M.D., an emergency medicine physician at Hasbro Children's Hospital, recently led a study that found children who were exposed to an adverse childhood experience (ACE) were 28 percent more likely to develop asthma.

23 Apr 2015

U of T studies find harmful vehicle emissions spreading farther than thought across Canadian cities

A trio of recently published studies from a team of University of Toronto engineers has found that air pollution could be spreading up to three times farther than thought--contributing to varying levels of air quality across cities.

22 Apr 2015

Researchers identify phenomenon that explains effects of oxidative stress on immune cells

You're up in the mountains, the snow is blindingly white, and the sun is blazing down from the sky: ideal skiing conditions - but any skiers carrying the herpes virus might also have to reckon with the onset of cold sores after their day out.

10 Apr 2015

Benefits of physical activity outweigh harmful effects of air pollution

New research from the University of Copenhagen has found that the beneficial effects of exercise are more important for our health than the negative effects of air pollution, in relation to the risk of premature mortality. In other words, benefits of exercise outweigh the harmful effects of air pollution.

30 Mar 2015

NYU Langone Medical Center researchers find that air pollution may pose significant stroke risk

Air pollution has been linked to a dangerous narrowing of neck arteries that occurs prior to strokes, according to researchers at NYU Langone Medical Center.

17 Mar 2015

Exposure to diesel exhaust may exacerbate respiratory diseases

Researchers in the UK have, for the first time, shown how exhaust pollution from diesel engines is able to affect nerves within the lung. Air pollution is a significant threat to health, they say, and identifying potential mechanisms linking exposure to diesel exhaust and the exacerbation of respiratory diseases may lead to treatments for those affected.

16 Mar 2015

Advanced clinical decision support tools reduce mortality for pneumonia patients

A new study by Intermountain Medical Center researchers in Salt Lake City found that using advanced clinical decision support tools reduces mortality for the 1.1 million patients in the Unites States who are treated for pneumonia each year.

11 Mar 2015

Advanced clinical decision support tools help reduce mortality for pneumonia patients

10 Mar 2015

Genetic decanalization can lead to complex genetic diseases in humans

The information encoded in the DNA of an organism is not sufficient to determine the expression pattern of genes. This fact has been known even before the discovery of epigenetics, which refers to external modifications to the DNA that turn genes "on" or "off".

28 Feb 2015

Teen girls from rural areas have undiagnosed asthma, face higher risk of depression

Teen girls who live in rural areas are more likely than their male counterparts to have undiagnosed asthma, and they often are at a higher risk of depression, according to researchers at the Medical College of Georgia at Georgia Regents University.

25 Feb 2015

Children exposed to air pollution are at increased risk for brain inflammation, neurodegenerative changes

City smog lowers children's IQ. This is among findings from a recent University of Montana study that found children living in cities with significant air pollution are at an increased risk for detrimental impacts to the brain, including short-term memory loss and lower IQ.

12 Feb 2015

Design of built environment impacts level of physical activity in Chinese cities, shows study

Chinese cities are different from many Western cities in relation to urban design, and far more densely populated.

12 Feb 2015

New study heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of APOE ε4 in urban children

A new study by researchers at the Universities of Montana, Carleton, and North Carolina, and the Centro de Ciencias de la Atmósfera, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, heightens concerns over the detrimental impact of the apolipoprotein E (APOE) ε4 allele -- the most prevalent genetic risk for Alzheimer's disease -- upon cognition, olfaction, and metabolic brain indices in healthy urban children and teens.

9 Feb 2015

Johns Hopkins researchers reveal that e-cigarettes weaken immune system

In a study with mice, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health researchers have found that e-cigarettes compromise the immune system in the lungs and generate some of the same potentially dangerous chemicals found in traditional nicotine cigarettes.

5 Feb 2015

Winners of Verizon Powerful Answers Award bring solutions to redefine the world

Four great ideas were named first place winners of the Verizon Powerful Answers Award, a year-long global challenge to discover and help bring to market technology-based solutions with the potential to change our world.

4 Feb 2015

UofL study investigates safety, effectiveness of EBV for treating emphysema symptoms

The University of Louisville has launched a research trial to study an investigational medical device designed to aid patients with emphysema by shutting off the diseased part of the lung. UofL is the only site in Kentucky among 14 nationwide testing the device.

28 Jan 2015