Pollution News and Research

Latest Pollution News and Research

Study examines benefits of IS technique in assessing effect of pollution on urban asthmatic children

For the firefighters and rescue workers conducting the rescue and cleanup operations at Ground Zero from September 2001 to May 2002, exposure to hazardous airborne particles led to a disturbing "WTC cough" -- obstructed airways and inflammatory bronchial hyperactivity -- and acute inflammation of the lungs. At the time, bronchoscopy, the insertion of a fiber optic bronchoscope into the lung, was the only way to obtain lung samples. But this method is highly invasive and impractical for screening large populations.

11 Dec 2014

Researchers develop new method to track movement of carcinogenic PAHs in the human body

Researchers for the first time have developed a method to track through the human body the movement of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs, as extraordinarily tiny amounts of these potential carcinogens are biologically processed and eliminated.

11 Dec 2014

Experts launch new interdisciplinary scientific collaboration to improve health in urban areas

Aiming to empower planners and policy-makers to achieve better health for billions of people living in fast-growing urban areas, world health, environmental, behavioural and social science experts today launched a major new interdisciplinary scientific collaboration.

9 Dec 2014

Verizon announces winners of 2014 Powerful Answers Award

The wait is over. Verizon is proud to announce the winners of Verizon's 2014 Powerful Answers Award, three in each of the following categories: education, health care, sustainability and transportation.

8 Dec 2014

Exposure to chemicals used in UOG operations may affect reproductive and developmental health

Unconventional oil and gas (UOG) operations combine directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," to release natural gas from underground rock. Recent discussions have centered on potential air and water pollution from chemicals used in these processes and how it affects the more than 15 million Americans living within one mile of UOG operations.

6 Dec 2014

Researchers develop new tool for global leaders to better control cancer

With the number of global cancer cases expected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2030, researchers around the globe have collaborated to create a new tool for global leaders to determine what actions they must take to better control cancer.

5 Dec 2014

New study reveals how soil helps control air pollution

Scientists have long known that air pollution caused by cars and trucks, solvent use and even plants, is reduced when broken down by naturally occurring compounds that act like detergents of the atmosphere. What has not been well understood until now are the relative contributions of all the processes producing such compounds.

4 Dec 2014

BIOREM receives patent for innovative biological air purification media

BIOREM Inc.("Biorem" or "the Company") today announced that it has received a patent (US 8,772,015 B2) for its innovative biological air purification media.

2 Dec 2014

Greater income inequality associated with more deaths among African Americans

Greater income inequality is linked to more deaths among African Americans, but the effect is reversed among white Americans, who experienced fewer deaths, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley.

2 Dec 2014

New course underlines the importance of early detection of lung cancer

In Japan, 40 percent of lung cancer cases are detected on early stages and treated with a high probability of remission; in the US 20 percent of cases have that possibility, while in Mexico, in the National Cancer Institute (INCan), only 1.2 percent of patients are diagnosed at an early stage.

21 Nov 2014

Johns Hopkins Medicine names eight new scholars to improve health care in India

The Center for Clinical Global Health Education at Johns Hopkins Medicine, with significant financial support from the Ujala Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation, has named eight new scholars to improve health care in India, with a particular focus on fighting tuberculosis.

18 Nov 2014

Preterm birth becomes world's number one killer of young children

For the first time in history, the complications of preterm birth outrank all other causes as the world's number one killer of young children.

17 Nov 2014

Exposure to tobacco smoke, roadway air pollution can contribute to obesity

New research from Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California (USC) bolsters evidence that exposure to tobacco smoke and near-roadway air pollution contributes to the development of obesity.

14 Nov 2014

UPM researchers use probabilistic models to assess health risks of mercury

Researchers from the UPM have characterized the health risks derived from the usage of mercury in artisanal gold mining in Colombia through probabilistic models.

14 Nov 2014

Sulindac drug can protect against oxidative damage due to AMD

While oxygen is essential to our planet's life force and the way we function and stay healthy, high concentrations referred to as oxidative stress may very well be the cause of more than 70 widely-spread diseases such as cancer, heart disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and eye diseases including macular degeneration.

11 Nov 2014

Exposure to indoor air pollution affects children's lungs

Children with asthma and hay fever often struggle with their breathing. Add secondhand smoke, kerosene and biomass fuel to the mix and allergy and asthma symptoms increase.

7 Nov 2014

Research finds link between autism spectrum disorder and air toxics

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were more likely to have been exposed to higher levels of certain air toxics during their mothers' pregnancies and the first two years of life compared to children without the condition, according to the preliminary findings of a University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health investigation of children in southwestern Pennsylvania.

25 Oct 2014

New screening tools detect heart and lung disease

Two Michigan high school students, sisters Ilina and Medha Krishen, have developed screening tools using electronic stethoscopes to detect lung and heart disease.

21 Oct 2014

UWM study supports the hypothesis that links autism to air pollutants

A researcher at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee has added to a growing body of evidence that links autism to air pollutants such as those generated by cars and trucks.

16 Oct 2014

European experts publish common vision of priorities for marine research

Some 340 European scientists, policy-makers and other experts representing 143 organizations from 31 countries spoke with one voice today, publishing a common vision of today's most pressing marine-related health and economic threats and opportunities.

9 Oct 2014