Air Pollution News and Research

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New device can measure mass of individual molecules one at a time

A team led by scientists at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech) have made the first-ever mechanical device that can measure the mass of individual molecules one at a time.

27 Aug 2012

Study addresses important early risk factors of cardiovascular health in adolescents

Early exposure to tobacco smoke is associated with various adverse health outcomes in children and adolescents, including low birth weight and impaired lung growth and function.

26 Aug 2012

Mullite can reduce pollution produced by diesel vehicles

Engineers at a company co-founded by a University of Texas at Dallas professor have identified a material that can reduce the pollution produced by vehicles that run on diesel fuel.

17 Aug 2012

Boys are little more susceptible to both bad and good exposures

A new study is the first to find a difference between how boys and girls respond to prenatal exposure to the insecticide chlorpyrifos. Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at the Mailman School of Public Health found that, at age 7, boys had greater difficulty with working memory, a key component of IQ, than girls with similar exposures.

10 Aug 2012

Allergy and asthma linked to the air pupils breathe

Poor air quality inside classrooms could play a role in the development of asthma and allergies in children, the results of a French study show.

31 Jul 2012

Vitamin D might modify damaging effects of smoking on lung function

Vitamin D deficiency is associated with worse lung function and more rapid decline in lung function over time in smokers, suggesting that vitamin D may have a protective effect against the effects of smoking on lung function, according to a new study from researchers in Boston.

21 Jul 2012

Mother's exposure to air pollution increases risk of obesity and insulin resistance in offspring

Pregnant mice exposed to high levels of air pollution gave birth to offspring with a significantly higher rate of obesity and insulin resistance in adulthood than those that were not exposed to air pollution. This effect seemed especially prevalent in male mice, which were heavier regardless of diet. These findings, published online in the FASEB Journal, suggests a link between diesel exhaust exposure in utero and bulging waistlines in adulthood.

20 Jul 2012

Vitamin D may modify damaging effects of smoking on lung function

20 Jul 2012

Ozone concerns aired over effect on cardiac biomarkers

Exposure to ozone for as little as 2 hours could induce physiologic changes associated with cardiovascular disease, say US researchers.

10 Jul 2012

Women in rural Bangladesh prefer traditional cookstoves despite significant health risks

Women in rural Bangladesh prefer inexpensive, traditional stoves for cooking over modern ones despite significant health risks, according to a Yale study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

30 Jun 2012

Ozone concerns aired over effect on cardiac biomarkers

Exposure to ozone for as little as 2 hours could induce physiologic changes associated with cardiovascular disease, say researchers.

28 Jun 2012

Ozone exposure associated with cardiovascular ailments

Young, healthy adult volunteers exposed for two hours to ozone developed physiological changes associated with cardiovascular ailments, according to a small study reported in Circulation, an American Heart Association journal.

26 Jun 2012

Turn down the volume to improve heart health

Individuals who live in an area that is exposed to high road traffic noise have a significantly increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI), researchers suggest.

25 Jun 2012

Study links two specific strains of bacteria with indoor mold from water damage

Bacterial contamination in water-damaged buildings has been identified as a potential cause of health problems, including infection and respiratory conditions like asthma. Which specific bacteria contribute to these problems, however, has been unknown-making it difficult for public health officials to develop tools to effectively address the underlying source of the problem.

21 Jun 2012

Interventions aimed at preventing, treating pneumonia in children need to be expanded in developing world

"This month, USAID's flagship Maternal and Child Health Integrated Program (MCHIP) joins countries around the world in celebrating International Children's Day," Dyness Kasungami, a child health team leader for MCHIP, writes in the Huffington Post Blog, adding, "While great strides in child survival have been made in the past years, we also remember those children who do not live to see their fifth birthday -- the 7.6 million children who die of preventable causes each year."

16 Jun 2012

My Air, My Health Challenge to spur collaboration between health researchers and technologists

A competition to create a personal sensor system that measures air pollution and a person's physiological response to it will offer cash awards to finalists, federal officials announced today. The goal is to help researchers, communities, and physicians better understand the connection between air quality and health.

7 Jun 2012

High pollution increases risk of repeated heart attacks by over 40%

Air pollution, a serious danger to the environment, is also a major health risk, associated with respiratory infections, lung cancer and heart disease. Now a Tel Aviv University researcher has concluded that not only does air pollution impact cardiac events such as heart attack and stroke, but it also causes repeated episodes over the long term.

6 Jun 2012

Smoke from cooking fires associated with cognitive deficits in children

Children exposed to open-fire cooking in developing countries experience difficulty with memory, problem-solving and social skills, according to researchers at the University of California, Riverside and Pitzer College in Claremont, Calif.

2 Jun 2012

Naphthalene exposure may increase risk of chromosomal aberrations in children

According to a new study, children exposed to high levels of the common air pollutant naphthalene are at increased risk for chromosomal aberrations (CAs), which have been previously associated with cancer. These include chromosomal translocations, a potentially more harmful and long-lasting subtype of CAs.

30 May 2012

Fever during pregnancy associated with autism or developmental delay

A team of UC Davis researchers has found that mothers who had fevers during their pregnancies were more than twice as likely to have a child with autism or developmental delay than were mothers of typically developing children, and that taking medication to treat fever countered its effect.

25 May 2012