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Dust storms have adverse effect on hospital EDs for COPD

A new study published in the journal Respirology reveals that dust storms have an adverse effect on emergency hospital admission for chronic lung disease, often known as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

6 Dec 2011

Energy Policy details human and environmental cost of cooking food using woody biomass

For many people in the developing world getting enough food to eat is a persistent challenge. However the challenge does not stop there. A new issue of the international journal Energy Policy details the human and environmental cost of cooking food using the only energy source available to many people, woody biomass.

29 Nov 2011

DFG approves establishment of new research training groups

To further enhance the promotion of early-career researchers in Germany, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) has approved the establishment of 16 new Research Training Groups. This decision was made by the DFG's relevant Grants Committee in Bonn.

29 Nov 2011

Laminar air flow therapy via novel device could be beneficial for asthmatics: Study

A new device that offers drug-free bedside filtered air flow can significantly reduce patients' symptoms such as wheezing and tight chests in asthmatics. The temperature controlled laminar airflow treatment, called Protexo, filters out airborne triggers such as dust particles and mites, pet hairs and powders that cause irritation and inflammation of the lungs.

27 Nov 2011

Abnormal levels of caffeine in water indicate human contamination

Researchers led by Prof. S-bastien Sauv- of the University of Montreal's Department of Chemistry have discovered that traces of caffeine are a useful indicator of the contamination of our water by sewers.

23 Nov 2011

Southampton professor receives ERC Advanced Grant to advance biophotonics research

Professor James Wilkinson at the University of Southampton's Optoelectronics Research Centre has been awarded a European Research Council (ERC) Advanced Grant to realise tools for fast, low-cost point-of-care clinical diagnostics and for chemical analysis in water pollution and food safety.

22 Nov 2011

Pollution threatens health of Chinese population, UNEP report says

"The pollution that has accompanied China's spectacular rate of economic growth will have dire health consequences for its population, the United Nations has warned in a report," the International Business Times reports.

18 Nov 2011

Smoke-reducing chimneys prevent pneumonia among young children

Researchers at the University of Liverpool and the universities of California, Berkley and del Valle, Guatemala, have found that cases of severe pneumonia among young children are reduced by one-third in homes with smoke-reducing chimneys on cooking stoves.

11 Nov 2011

Wood stoves with chimneys linked to reduced childhood pneumonia

Cooking stoves with chimneys can lower exposure to indoor wood smoke and reduce the rate of severe pneumonia by 30 percent in children less than 18 months of age, according to a new air pollution study funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), part of the National Institutes of Health.

11 Nov 2011

Inhaling low levels of CO reduces impact of environmental stress

According to scientists, carbon monoxide (CO), a tasteless, colorless and odorless gas, is not only a danger to the environment but also highly toxic to human beings. Found in the exhaust of vehicles and generators, CO has been dubbed the "silent killer" because excessive inhalation is lethal, poisoning the nervous system and heart.

9 Nov 2011

The Kresge Foundation to support two HIAs to inform housing sector decisions

The Health Impact Project, a collaboration of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts, announced today that The Kresge Foundation will support two health impact assessments (HIAs) to inform decisions in the housing sector.

8 Nov 2011

New technology can detect toxins in a person's breath

Breathing. Anyone reading this article is doing it right now. But what chemicals are we breathing in, and out? A group of Virginia Tech College of Engineering researchers has published a paper in the journal Environmental Science & Technology that details how to learn just that, using microelectromechanical systems to focus on toxins and everyday impurities that enter the body through the air we intake.

8 Nov 2011

Exposure to air pollution may increase risk of RA

Exposure to some types of air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide — one of the six most common pollutants in the United States — is associated with a somewhat increased risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis, according to research presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting in Chicago.

7 Nov 2011

Replacing short auto trips with bicycle trips would yield major health benefits

Cutting out short auto trips and replacing them with mass transit and active transport would yield major health benefits, according to a study just published in the scientific journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

3 Nov 2011

Potential role for UV light exposure, vitamin D levels in chronic digestive conditions

New research points to a potential role for UV light exposure and vitamin D levels in chronic digestive conditions.

1 Nov 2011

UV light exposure and vitamin D play a potential role in chronic digestive conditions

New research points to a potential role for UV light exposure and vitamin D levels in chronic digestive conditions; Crohn's disease, a serious inflammatory condition in the small intestine; and ulcerative colitis (UC), which similarly affects the colon.

31 Oct 2011

Sewage provides perfect ecosystem for studying diversity of uncharacterized viral populations

Raw sewage provides a perfect ecosystem for studying the diversity of viral populations that remain uncharacterized. This is one of the principal conclusions of a study published in the journal mBio by a team comprising experts from the UB's Laboratory of Water and Food Viral Pollution, Washington University and the University of Pittsburgh, under the direction of James Pipas.

22 Oct 2011

Climate change could be detrimental to global health, conference attendees say

Environmental health experts, scientists and government officials attending a conference in London sponsored by the British Medical Journal on Monday "issued a statement warning that climate change could not only bring a global health catastrophe but could threaten global stability and security as well, a journal release said," UPI.com reports.

19 Oct 2011

Potential new protein target for pulmonary hypertension

A protein critical to development appears to have a grave impact on lungs exposed to smoking and air pollution, researchers report.

18 Oct 2011

UEA scientists to assess future impact of global warming on allergic diseases

A new study by an international team of scientists including the University of East Anglia (UEA) will assess the future impact of global warming on allergic diseases.

18 Oct 2011