Pollution News and Research

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Air traffic pollution impacts growth and development of unborn children

A UK academic is calling for a nationwide study into the effects traffic pollution has on asthma sufferers after his own research in Cairo highlighted health problems in children who may even be affected while still in the womb.

6 Jul 2011

Prolonged exposure to air pollution can have visible, negative effects on brain

Long-term exposure to air pollution can lead to physical changes in the brain, as well as learning and memory problems and even depression, new research in mice suggests.

5 Jul 2011

New fish study focuses on prevalence of plastic ingestion

The first scientific results from an ambitious voyage led by a group of graduate students from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego offer a stark view of human pollution and its infiltration of an area of the ocean that has been labeled as the "Great Pacific Garbage Patch."

2 Jul 2011

Early infection with H. pylori protects against allergy-induced asthma

Infection with the gastric bacterium Helicobacter pylori provides reliable protection against allergy-induced asthma, immunologists from the University of Zurich have demonstrated in an animal model together with allergy specialists from the University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz.

2 Jul 2011

New technique can remove oil spill from soil

It is well known just how damaging oil can be to nature. It is also well known just how difficult it can be to clean up after a spill or contamination. Removing an oil spill or contamination from soil is hard and requires very different techniques to removing oil from water.

30 Jun 2011

Psychosocial stress may enhance lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution in children

Psychosocial stress appears to enhance the lung-damaging effects of traffic-related pollution (TRP) in children, according to new research from the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles.

24 Jun 2011

Computer algorithms might help identify sources of groundwater pollution

Computer algorithms might be useful in identifying sources of groundwater pollution, according to researchers in Australia and India. Writing in the International Journal of Environment and Waste Management they explain how notoriously difficult it is to trace such pollution.

23 Jun 2011

Urban dwellers at greater risk of mental illness: Study

A new study shows that living in a city increases the risk of developing a mental disorder, including depression and schizophrenia, compared to people who live in non-urban areas. The findings of the has implications for around half of the world's population who live in cities.

23 Jun 2011

CAAS, UNH launch agro-ecosystems laboratory

The University of New Hampshire has launched a joint research laboratory with the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) to promote international research in agricultural development and the environment, announced Tom Brady, dean of the College of Life Sciences and Agriculture at UNH recently.

23 Jun 2011

Exposure to asbestos can cause genetic somatic mutations in mammals

Mice inhabiting an area known for its high concentration of asbestos-contaminated dust, have a higher level of genetic somatic mutations, compared with other regions where asbestos pollution levels are lower.

16 Jun 2011

Valuable insight into how people develop B-cell lymphoma

Researchers from the University of Sheffield have discovered valuable insight into how people develop B-cell lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in the UK.

9 Jun 2011

UH environmental engineer to test parts of Galveston Bay for dioxins and PCBs

A University of Houston environmental engineer will test parts of Galveston Bay for toxic chemicals in an effort to help state officials determine the best way to handle those pollutants.

8 Jun 2011

BioScience article describes early scale-up stage of new biotechnology with environmental benefits

An article published in the June issue of BioScience describes the early scale-up stage of a new biotechnology with environmental benefits and possible commercial potential. Algal turf scrubbers are field-sized, water-treatment systems that can extract excess nutrients from streams, canals, and lakes polluted by agricultural, domestic, and some industrial runoff.

1 Jun 2011

Study suggests new therapeutic targets for virally-induced asthma attacks

When children with asthma get the flu, they often land in the hospital gasping for air. Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have found a previously unknown biological pathway explaining why influenza induces asthma attacks.

30 May 2011

Artificial ionizing radiation enhances impairment of humankind's genetic pool

Ionizing radiation is not without danger to human populations. Indeed, exposure to nuclear radiation leads to an increase in male births relative to female births, according to a new study by Hagen Scherb and Kristina Voigt from the Helmholtz Zentrum München.

26 May 2011

Atmospheric chlorine-content linked to risk of childhood leukaemia

A significant positive association between the risk of childhood leukaemia and levels of chlorine-containing chemicals in the atmosphere has been found by researchers in Portugal. Details are reported in the current issue of the International Journal of Environment and Health.

25 May 2011

Vuvuzela unhealthy in more ways than one: Study

According to health experts, Vuvuzelas - the horns used by football fans celebrating last year's World Cup - not only cause noise pollution but may also spread diseases. According to a new study published in PLoS One journal it is seen that a short burst on the instrument creates a spittle shower similar to a sneeze, travelling at a four million droplets a second. Authors write that in crowded venues one person blowing a Vuvuzela could infect many others with airborne illness like the flu or TB.

24 May 2011

Washington State Green Chemistry Roundtable conference to focus on environmental toxics

A more holistic, less piecemeal roadmap for the use of chemicals in the state is the goal of research, industry and government leaders who will gather this week in the state's first green chemistry conference.

24 May 2011

Children exposed to maternal smoking in utero have increased DNA methylation in AXL gene

Children whose mothers or grandmothers smoked during pregnancy are at increased risk of asthma in childhood, but the underlying causes of this are not well understood. Now a new study indicates changes in a process called DNA methylation that occurs before birth may be a root cause.

19 May 2011

Workplace smoking ban improves respiratory health and reduces emergency admissions

Workplace smoking bans are gaining ground globally, and one study has shown that they may have significant health effects. The study, conducted by researchers in Dublin, found that emergency room admissions due to respiratory illness dropped significantly in Ireland after the implementation of a workplace smoking ban, compared to admissions that took place before the ban went into effect.

18 May 2011