Arsenic News and Research

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Arsenic is a naturally occurring element widely distributed in the earth’s crust. In the environment, arsenic is combined with oxygen, chlorine, and sulfur to form inorganic arsenic compounds. Arsenic in animals and plants combines with carbon and hydrogen to form organic arsenic compounds.

Breathing high levels of inorganic arsenic can give you a sore throat or irritated lungs.

Ingesting very high levels of arsenic can result in death. Exposure to lower levels can cause nausea and vomiting, decreased production of red and white blood cells, abnormal heart rhythm, damage to blood vessels, and a sensation of “pins and needles” in hands and feet.

Ingesting or breathing low levels of inorganic arsenic for a long time can cause a darkening of the skin and the appearance of small “corns” or “warts” on the palms, soles, and torso.

New Global Burden of Disease study estimates vast impact of asthma and COPD

Latest global estimates illustrate the vast impact of the two most common chronic respiratory diseases, with 3.2 million deaths from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 0.4 million deaths caused by asthma in 2015, according to a new Global Burden of Disease study published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine journal.

18 Aug 2017

Lead detected in 20% of baby food samples, surprising even researchers

Pediatricians and public health researchers know they have to be on the lookout for lead exposure from paint chips and contaminated drinking water. A new report suggests food — particularly baby food — could be a problem, too.

16 Jun 2017

Hybrid filter offers low-cost option for purification of arsenic-contaminated water

The news story made a big splash: in January 2016 ETH researchers Professor Raffaele Mezzenga and his senior researcher Sreenath Bolisetty published a study in the journal Nature Nanotechnology about an innovative type of membrane developed in their laboratory.

13 Jun 2017

Baby rice food products contain illegal levels of inorganic arsenic, research finds

In January 2016, the EU imposed a maximum limit of inorganic arsenic on manufacturers in a bid to mitigate associated health risks. Researchers at the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's have found that little has changed since this law was passed and that 50 percent of baby rice food products still contain an illegal level of inorganic arsenic.

4 May 2017

Electronic hookah kills 80% more lung cells than traditional counterpart

Hookah-tobacco users might want to rethink how they heat up their water pipes, based on research by chemists at the University of Cincinnati.

4 Apr 2017

Parasite's biological clock could help improve treatments for deadly sleeping sickness

The parasite that causes deadly sleeping sickness has its own biological clock that makes it more vulnerable to medications during the afternoon, according to international research that may help improve treatments for one of Africa's most lethal diseases.

24 Mar 2017

Researcher highlights ten main problems that must be addressed to modernize toxicology

Toxicology as a science has not evolved to keep pace with the chemical revolution, according to Thomas Hartung writing in the International Journal of Risk Assessment and Management, Hartung highlights ten problems that must be addressed if toxicology is to be made fit for purpose in the 21st Century.

10 Mar 2017

New interactive tool helps consumers to effectively balance benefits, risks of eating seafood

FishChoice, a new online tool to help consumers and professionals efficiently and effectively balance the benefits and risks of eating seafood, has been launched by the EU-funded ECsafeSEAFOOD project at www.fishchoice.eu.

2 Mar 2017

Gluten-free diets linked to increased risk for arsenic and mercury exposure

People who eat a gluten-free diet may be at risk for increased exposure to arsenic and mercury - toxic metals that can lead to cardiovascular disease, cancer and neurological effects, according to a report in the journal Epidemiology.

14 Feb 2017

USU researchers develop new primer that improves studies into arsenic contamination

A team of Utah State University College of Engineering researchers developed a new primer - a tool used in DNA amplification - that simplifies the process of identifying bacteria found in soil and groundwater samples.

13 Feb 2017

Aluminum cookware made from scrap metal poses serious and unrecognized health risk

Aluminum cookware made from scrap metal in countries around the world poses a serious and previously unrecognized health risk to millions of people according to a new study.

23 Jan 2017

Researchers discover Hedgehog signaling pathway is key to formation of gastrointestinal stromal tumors

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine and Mayo Clinic provide the first evidence that the Hedgehog signaling pathway is central to the formation of gastrointestinal stromal tumors (GIST), which are frequently driven by the KIT oncogene.

1 Nov 2016

Large-scale groundwater pumping increases arsenic risk in Southeast Asia

Large-scale groundwater pumping is opening doors for dangerously high levels of arsenic to enter some of Southeast Asia's aquifers, with water now seeping in through riverbeds with arsenic concentrations more than 100 times the limits of safety, according to a new study from scientists at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, MIT, and Hanoi University of Science.

22 Aug 2016

Scientists identify new genetic variations contributing to onset of APL

A study led by a team of scientists from the Cancer Science Institute of Singapore at the National University of Singapore has identified new genetic alterations contributing to the onset of Acute Promyelocytic Leukemia (APL).

27 Jul 2016

New method using electrical conductivity could be effective in measuring blood present in dry blood spots

Researchers from The University of Texas at Arlington have demonstrated that electrical conductivity can be an effective means to precisely measure the amount of blood present in dry blood spot analysis, providing a new alternative to the current preferred approach of measuring sodium levels.

19 Jul 2016

Researchers detect high levels of arsenic, chromium and kidney injury biomarker in children of Mexico

Water supply contamination has become a global issue, affecting communities in both the United States and around the world.

19 Jul 2016

Study reveals distribution of toxic arsenic in cell nuclei of plants

Toxic arsenic initially accumulates in the nuclei of plants' cells. This has been revealed by an X-ray examination of the aquatic plant rigid hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) using DESY's X-ray source PETRA III.

25 Jun 2016

New European standard method can help measure inorganic arsenic content in foods

A new European standard method to determine the content of inorganic arsenic in foodstuffs has been developed at the National Food Institute, Technical University of Denmark. Inorganic arsenic is carcinogenic according to the World Health Organization, WHO. Being able to accurately measure the substance in different foods is necessary to ensure that the content is below the maximum levels recently set by the European Commission to protect consumers.

12 Apr 2016

Chinese medicines may contain hazardous chemicals

Chinese medicines are manufactured and distributed all over the world. Many people perceive them as natural, even benign and with few side effects, but regulation of human medicines fluctuates widely in different countries.

24 Mar 2016

Austrian scientists detect new membrane-bound arsenic substances in herring caviar

Seafish are known for their capability to accumulate toxic trace elements like mercury or arsenic. These elements are metabolized and end up chemically bound to organic compounds found in cell constituents like the membranes.