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Long-term pesticide exposure may increase diabetes risk

Licensed pesticide applicators who used chlorinated pesticides on more than 100 days in their lifetime were at greater risk of diabetes, according to researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The associations between specific pesticides and incident diabetes ranged from a 20 percent to a 200 percent increase in risk, said the scientists with the NIH's National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

4 Jun 2008

Having a cat may protect children from developing asthma

A study released by researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health (CCCEH) at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health, shows that cat ownership may have a protective effect against the development of asthma symptoms in young children at age five.

20 May 2008

Study looks at effect of environmental chemicals on female mammals

Our day-to-day exposure to chemicals is on the increase. From food packaging to the air we breathe, every day contact with potentially-toxic substances could be affecting our health - and our fertility.

20 May 2008

Parkinson's disease linked to exposure to pesticides

Recent research suggests a possible link between exposure to pesticides and the development of Parkinson's disease (PD).

21 Apr 2008

Researchers battle against dangerous corn toxin

The spiraling use of corn for food and fuel is creating heightened concerns about contamination of this staple crop with deadly aflatoxin.

9 Apr 2008

New decontamination agent

A new decontamination agent devised by US chemists can deactivate toxic chemicals such as nerve agents and pesticides - leaving only non-toxic, easily disposable by-products, according to research in the New Journal of Chemistry.

8 Apr 2008

Female vets run twice the risk of miscarriage

Female vets run twice the risk of miscarriage as a result of exposure to anaesthetic gases and pesticides, suggests a study published ahead of print in Occupational and Environmental Medicine .

4 Apr 2008

Hairdressers at an increased risk for cancers

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), hair dyes and other chemicals place hairdressers at an increased risk for cancer.

31 Mar 2008

Pesticides and nerve agents explain health problems in Persian Gulf war veterans

A study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine shows there is increasing evidence that high rates of illness in Persian Gulf War Veterans can be explained, in part, by exposure to certain chemicals, including pesticides and nerve agents.

11 Mar 2008

Mix of endocrine disrupters a dangerous cocktail

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals, which are harmless individually in small doses, can together be a dangerous cocktail.

20 Feb 2008

NIH and EPA announce new chemical toxicity testing agreement

Testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who today announced a new toxicity testing agreement.

17 Feb 2008

Poison prevention and treatment

Each year, approximately 2.4 million people - more than half under age 6 - swallow or have contact with a poisonous substance..

11 Feb 2008

Pollution disrupts puberty in girls

Although scientists have speculated over the negative effects of environmental toxins for years, new data suggest that certain environmental toxins may disrupt the normal growth and hormonal development of girls.

7 Feb 2008

New air sensor system will help asthmatics

Researchers at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) have developed a sensor system that continuously monitors the air around persons prone to asthma attacks.

23 Jan 2008

Trichloroethylene chemical - widely used in industry - is a risk factor for parkinsonism

Parkinson's disease, the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder caused by aging, can also be caused by pesticides and other neurotoxins.

8 Jan 2008

Everyone carries at least 1 type of pesticide

A study carried out by researchers from the Department of Radiology and Physical Medicine of the University of Granada, in collaboration with the Andalusian School of Public Health (Escuela Andaluza de Salud Publica), found that 100% of Spaniards analyzed had at least one kind of persistent organic compound (POC's), substances internationally classified as potentially harmful to one's health, in their bodies.

7 Jan 2008

Contact with commonly used pesticides associated with greater asthma risk in farm women

New research on farm women has shown that contact with some commonly used pesticides in farm work may increase their risk of allergic asthma.

2 Jan 2008

Overexcited neurons not good for cell health

Neurotransmitters have consequences. They initiate events that are critical to a healthy life, giving us the ability to move, to talk, to breathe, to think. But that's if the neurotransmitters are getting it right and sending proper signals downstream to muscle cells, neurons or other cells.

18 Dec 2007

Agent orange chemical, dioxin, attacks the mitochondria to cause cancer

Researchers with the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have demonstrated the process by which the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks the cellular machinery, disrupts normal cellular function and ultimately promotes tumor progression.

18 Dec 2007

Post hurricane skin disorders in clean up workers

Four distinct skin disorders were found in construction workers who helped repair buildings after Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, according to a report in the November issue of Archives of Dermatology.

20 Nov 2007