Formaldehyde is a colorless, flammable, strong-smelling chemical that is used to manufacture building materials and to produce many household products. Formaldehyde sources in the home include pressed-wood products, cigarette smoke, and fuel-burning appliances. When exposed to formaldehyde, some individuals may experience various short-term health effects. Formaldehyde has been classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing substance) by the International Agency for Research on Cancer and as a probable human carcinogen by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Research studies of workers exposed to formaldehyde have suggested an association between formaldehyde exposure and cancers of the nasal sinuses, nasopharynx, and brain, and possibly leukemia.
Results from an ongoing study of workers employed at plants that used or produced formaldehyde continue to show a possible link between formaldehyde exposure and death from cancers of the blood and lymphatic system, particularly myeloid leukemia.
Many people of East Asian descent possess an enzyme deficiency that causes their skin to redden, or flush, when they drink alcohol.
One of the tiniest entities in the human genome - are great escape artists.
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have devised a simple, fast method for adding a radioactive "tag" to formaldehyde, a common organic chemical.
Tens of thousands of Gulf Coast area children who lived in trailer units provided by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 might have increased risk for long-term health problems, according to physicians and federal health officials, the AP/Denver Post reports.
The number of children in the Gulf Coast region after Hurricane Katrina who complained of symptoms of bronchitis, pneumonia and other lower respiratory illnesses rose in the years after the storm, according to a 49-page CDC report released on Thursday, the Washington Post reports.
Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a sensor system that continuously monitors the air around persons prone to asthma attacks.
A sophisticated microscope that offers a “real-time” 3-D analysis of tissue samples might, in the future, reduce the number of needle biopsies traditionally needed from women suspected of having breast cancer, according to recent research published at Georgetown University Medical Center's Lombardi Comprehensive Cancer Center.
The great majority of the nearly 23 million people with asthma, including 6.5 million children, can avoid serious symptoms and disability if they follow the latest guidelines to keep their disease under control.
As a frequent addition to the list of America's most polluted cities, Houston is no stranger to having more than just oxygen and carbon dioxide in the air.
Ethanol is widely touted as an eco-friendly, clean-burning fuel.
When used indoors under certain conditions, many common household cleaners and air fresheners emit toxic pollutants at levels that may lead to health risks.
A new Mayo Clinic study reveals the most common causes of allergic contact dermatitis, a skin inflammation resulting in swollen, reddened and itchy skin due to direct contact with an allergen.
According to new research by the National Health Service (NHS), 60 per cent of smokers light up and smoke without asking for permission, despite the fact that most non-smokers mind if other people are smoking nearby.
According to Swissmedic, the Swiss Agency for Therapeutic Products, the NicStic is not a medicinal product and the way has been cleared for its commercial production.
A new British report commissioned as part of BBC News' Healthy Britons poll has found that 80% of people want the legal age of smoking raised from 16 to 18. This follows a recent report in the journal Education and Health on the health-care consequences of long-term smoking.
Exposure to secondhand smoke is even more dangerous than previously thought and increases the risk of heart disease among non-smokers by as much as 60 percent.