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OTRC: Secondhand smoke exposure is a serious health hazard

New research by the Oklahoma Tobacco Research Center (OTRC) shows that concentrations of secondhand tobacco smoke inhaled in smoking rooms of restaurants and bars are exceptionally high and hazardous to health.

17 Feb 2010

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Researchers at the Keck School of Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC), in collaboration with international partners in Spain and Switzerland and colleagues in California, have found that exposure to air pollution accelerates the thickening of artery walls that leads to cardiovascular disease.

15 Feb 2010

Gold nanoparticles for cancer treatment

World Gold Council (WGC) has today published 'Gold for Good: Gold and nanotechnology in the age of innovation', a research paper detailing new scientific and technological innovations using gold. The report, which was produced in conjunction with Cientifica Ltd, the world's leading source of global business and investor intelligence about nanotechnologies, demonstrates how gold nanoparticles offer the potential to overcome many of the serious issues facing mankind over the coming decades.

12 Feb 2010

World leaders need to alter their notions on sustainable agriculture to prevent starvation catastrophe

Yields from some of the most important crops begin to decline sharply when average temperatures exceed about 30 degrees Celsius, or 86 Fahrenheit. Projections are that by the end of this century much of the tropics and subtropics will regularly see growing season temperatures above that level, hotter than the hottest summers now on record.

12 Feb 2010

Report shows 3.4% of adult Minnesotans suffer from COPD

The nation's fourth leading cause of death, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), is now being measured by the Minnesota Department of Health's Environmental Public Health Tracking Program. The program focuses on three major causes of hospitalizations in Minnesota that can be triggered or made worse by environmental factors such as secondhand smoke or outdoor air pollution — asthma, heart attacks and COPD.

10 Feb 2010

Strengthening NAAQS for ozone pollution would reduce premature death, asthma

Environmental Defense Fund testified today that strengthening the National Ambient Air Quality Standard (NAAQS) for ozone pollution from 75 to 60 parts per billion (ppb) would reduce premature death rates by 60-fold and reduce asthma cases 50-fold, according to analyses by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

5 Feb 2010

LDDI releases biomonitoring report on environmental neurotoxins in health affected community

The Learning and Developmental Disabilities Initiative (LDDI) today released the first-ever biomonitoring report identifying toxic chemical pollution in people from the learning and developmental disability community.

5 Feb 2010

Transplantation of pulmonary progenitor cells derived from hESCs promising for acute lung injury

Stem cell researchers exploring a new approach for the care of respiratory diseases report that an experimental treatment involving transplantable lung cells was associated with improved outcomes in tests on mice with acute lung injury. The lung cells were derived from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). Findings by investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston are scheduled to appear in the March issue of Molecular Therapy.

4 Feb 2010

New study to understand the association of winter "cold-air pools" with poor air quality

At times this winter, the greater Salt Lake City area has harbored the most polluted air in the United States. Now, researchers from the University of Utah and other institutions are starting a three-year, $1.3 million study to better understand the winter weather "inversion" conditions frequently associated with poor air quality.

3 Feb 2010

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit examines the use of nanoparticles

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit wrapped up today in Albuquerque, N.M., with in-depth discussion-and a high sense of energy looking ahead.

3 Feb 2010

Health and environmental groups propose new ozone standard to help reduce asthma attacks and premature deaths

The American Lung Association, Breathe California, Coalition for Clean Air, Environmental Defense Fund and the Sierra Club will hold a joint press conference in support of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposal to strengthen the national limits for ozone "smog" pollution. The organizations are calling on the EPA to enact the most protective ozone standard under consideration to protect the health of our communities and the environment from serious harm.

2 Feb 2010

Scientists and engineers conduct research on environmental health impacts of nanomaterials

As researchers around the world hasten to employ nanotechnology to improve production methods for applications that range from manufacturing materials to creating new pharmaceutical drugs, a separate but equally compelling challenge exists.

2 Feb 2010

Cryogenetics invents a method for cryo-preservation of fish embryos

The Norwegian company Cryogenetics Ltd. has made a significant breakthrough by inventing a method for cryo-preservation of fish embryos down to -130° C (-202° F).

2 Feb 2010

Tel Aviv University expert reviews environmental triggers of common autoimmune diseases

The links between autoimmune diseases, infections, genetics and the environment are complex and mysterious. Why are people who live near airports more susceptible to autoimmune diseases like rheumatoid arthritis and lupus? How do hormones in meat trigger the onset of a disease?

27 Jan 2010

Air pollution is associated with increased cardiac events

Even healthy people exposed to ultrafine particulate pollution associated with traffic and fossil-fuel combustion for just two hours show changes in heart rhythm and evidence of clot formation that may herald the potential for serious cardiac events, according to research from the Environmental Protection Agency.

23 Jan 2010

Rise in US springtime ozone levels could impact compliance with Clean Air Act standards

Springtime ozone levels above western North America are rising primarily due to air flowing eastward from the Pacific Ocean, a trend that is largest when the air originates in Asia. These increases in ozone could make it more difficult for the United States to meet Clean Air Act standards for ozone pollution at ground level, according to a new international study.

22 Jan 2010

UF Institute on Aging receives $15M NIH construction grant

The University of Florida's Institute on Aging has received close to $15 million from the National Institutes of Health to construct an almost 40,000-square-foot complex for clinical and translational research.

20 Jan 2010

Study finds no elevated risk of dust-related disease for subway workers

New York subway commuters may worry more about rats and rising fares than dust floating through the system, but for the workers who spend their whole shift below ground, air quality has long been a concern. Results from a new pilot study using miniaturized air samplers to look at steel dust exposure may help them breathe easier.

13 Jan 2010

Specialized software provides 3D images of individual patients' livers

Odysseus has developed systems to construct 3D images of individual patients' livers, with their tumours or other pathologies, from MRI or CT-scans. The reconstructions can be transmitted to external experts in any location, for consultation in real time just before surgery.

8 Jan 2010

E-The Environmental Magazine: Environmental toxicity drives up autism rates

As many as one in 90 children are today being diagnosed with autism--and autism research continues to focus almost exclusively on genetics. In its January/February 2010 issue (posted now at: www.emagazine.com), E-The Environmental Magazine looks at another factor that may be driving up autism rates--environmental toxicity.

7 Jan 2010

Pollution News and Research

OTRC: Secondhand smoke exposure is a serious health hazard

Air pollution linked to increased risk of atherosclerosis

Gold nanoparticles for cancer treatment

World leaders need to alter their notions on sustainable agriculture to prevent starvation catastrophe

Report shows 3.4% of adult Minnesotans suffer from COPD

Strengthening NAAQS for ozone pollution would reduce premature death, asthma

LDDI releases biomonitoring report on environmental neurotoxins in health affected community

Transplantation of pulmonary progenitor cells derived from hESCs promising for acute lung injury

New study to understand the association of winter "cold-air pools" with poor air quality

SNM's Nanomedicine and Molecular Imaging Summit examines the use of nanoparticles

Health and environmental groups propose new ozone standard to help reduce asthma attacks and premature deaths

Scientists and engineers conduct research on environmental health impacts of nanomaterials

Cryogenetics invents a method for cryo-preservation of fish embryos

Tel Aviv University expert reviews environmental triggers of common autoimmune diseases

Air pollution is associated with increased cardiac events

Rise in US springtime ozone levels could impact compliance with Clean Air Act standards

UF Institute on Aging receives $15M NIH construction grant

Study finds no elevated risk of dust-related disease for subway workers

Specialized software provides 3D images of individual patients' livers

E-The Environmental Magazine: Environmental toxicity drives up autism rates

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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