Pollution News and Research

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Concordia researchers propose new building guidelines to clean up city air

As urban populations expand, downtown buildings are going nowhere but up. The huge energy needs of these skyscrapers mean that these towers are not only office buildings, they're polluters with smokestacks billowing out toxins from the rooftop. Our cities are dirtier than we think. New research from Concordia University just might clean them up.

2 Nov 2012

Research team receives grant to study impact of urban air pollution on TB immunity

An international team of researchers, led by Stephan Schwander, MD, PhD, director of the Center for Global Public Health at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-School of Public Health, has received a $2.96 million grant to conduct a "real-world" study on the impact of urban air pollution on the human immune system's ability to resist Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes tuberculosis.

29 Oct 2012

Allergies and hygiene: an interview with Sally Bloomfield

Allergies occur when the body overreacts to substances in our environment, such as pollen, dust mites and so forth. What happens is that when we are exposed to these potential threats, the immune system should react, deal with it, and then shut down.

26 Oct 2012

Study finds pollution as dangerous to health in developing world as malaria, TB

"Industrial pollution is putting the health of 125 million people at risk worldwide and is as dangerous in the developing world as malaria or tuberculosis, according to a new report," titled "2012 World's Worst Pollution Problems," Reuters/ABC Science reports.

26 Oct 2012

Concordia-France research collaboration appeals to emotions to heal the world

Einstein said that we can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking used when we created them. Wise words, except few people heed them when it comes to sustainable solutions for our ailing planet.

20 Oct 2012

Multi-system exposure related illness (MERI)

The Global Health Network has released a new paper titled “Common Toxins in our Homes, Schools and Workplaces.” According to an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) spokesman, indoor air pollution causes 50% of illnesses globally. This statistic should catch the attention of every physician, every lawmaker and every layperson reading this paper. That’s more than all the cancers and all the heart disease combined. It is time we started to pay more attention to the indoor air we breathe. It is staggering to comprehend the enormous impact on our global society as literally millions of individuals and families are harmed by contaminants inside our homes, schools and workplaces.

16 Oct 2012

Early pollution exposure has long-lasting respiratory effects

Exposure to traffic-related pollution during the first year of life continues to affect lung function at age 8 years, show the results of a Swedish study.

16 Oct 2012

Environmental factors affect pneumonia hospitalization in HIV

Hospital admissions for Pneumocystis pneumonia in HIV-infected individuals are significantly more common in the summer months, US research shows.

15 Oct 2012

Early exposure to traffic-related air pollution affects respiratory health in children

Exposure to ambient air pollution from traffic during infancy is associated with lung function deficits in children up to eight years of age, particularly among children sensitized to common allergens, according to a new study.

12 Oct 2012

Pesticide exposure may trigger food allergies

Results from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey suggest that high exposure to dichlorophenols, chemicals found in pesticides and used for chlorinating water, may increase a person’s risk for developing food allergies.

5 Oct 2012

‘Hygiene hypothesis’ updated to ‘Old Friends’ hypothesis

A new scientific report out today from the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene (IFH) dismantles the myth that the epidemic rise in allergies in recent years has happened because we’re living in sterile homes and overdoing hygiene.

3 Oct 2012

EC approves Sosei’s Seebri Breezhaler to treat COPD

Sosei Group Corporation confirms the information released today by Novartis that the European Commission has approved Seebri Breezhaler (glycopyrronium bromide) 44 mcg delivered dose (equivalent to 50 mcg glycopyrronium measured dose per capsule), as a once-daily inhaled maintenance bronchodilator treatment to relieve symptoms in adult patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

1 Oct 2012

World leaders address climate change, water, food security at events on sidelines of U.N. General Assembly

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Thursday at an event hosted by Qatar on the sidelines of the 67th General Assembly meeting "called again for urgent and concrete action on climate change, as high-level officials gathered at the United Nations to discuss the growing global concern over the impacts of the phenomenon on food and water security," the U.N. News Centre reports.

29 Sep 2012

Japanese MHLW approves Sosei’s Seebri inhalation capsules to treat COPD

Sosei Group Corporation confirms the information released today by Novartis that the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has approved Seebri (glycopyrronium bromide) Inhalation Capsules 50 mcg administered through the Breezhaler device, as a once-daily, long-term, inhaled maintenance bronchodilator treatment for the relief of various symptoms due to airway obstructive disease in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

28 Sep 2012

Exposure to near-roadway air pollution can cause or exacerbate asthma in L.A. County children

Research conducted at the University of Southern California (USC) indicates that at least 8 percent of the more than 300,000 cases of childhood asthma in Los Angeles County can be attributed to traffic-related pollution at homes within 75 meters (a little less than 250 feet) of a busy roadway.

24 Sep 2012

Urban air pollution exposure during pregnancy may lead to lower vitamin D levels in offspring

Gestational exposure to ambient urban air pollution, especially during late pregnancy, may contribute to lower vitamin D levels in offspring, according to a recent study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism (JCEM).

14 Sep 2012

New statistical model retrospectively estimates air pollution exposure for previous time periods

In a study that analyzed relationships between air quality and unemployment levels, a Tufts University researcher has developed a new statistical model that retrospectively estimates air pollution exposure for previous time periods where such information is not available.

13 Sep 2012

Synthetic biology pioneer wins 2012 Heinz Award

Jay Keasling, a leading authority and pioneer on synthetic biology who has engineered microbial "factories" to manufacture an affordable version of a frontline antimalarial drug and biofuel substitutes for gasoline, diesel and jet fuel, has won a 2012 Heinz Award, which is presented by the Heinz Family Foundation and carries with it a cash prize of $250,000.

13 Sep 2012

Nano ‘velcro’ strip effective detector of water-borne contaminants

Researchers have developed a specialized glass strip covered in “hairy” nanoparticles that can detect pollution of water by toxic metals, such as mercury.

12 Sep 2012

Exposure to road traffic noise may increase risk of annoyance or sleep disturbance

The World Health Organization recently recognized environmental noise as harmful pollution, with adverse psychosocial and physiological effects on public health. A new study of noise pollution in Fulton County, Georgia, suggests that many residents are exposed to high noise levels that put them at risk of annoyance or sleep disturbance, which can have serious health consequences.

12 Sep 2012