Pollution News and Research

Latest Pollution News and Research

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

Genetic differences influence asthma risk in Latinos

Native American ancestry is associated with a lower asthma risk, but African ancestry is associated with a higher risk, according to the largest-ever study of how genetic variation influences asthma risk in Latinos, in whom both African and Native American ancestry is common. The study, led by UC San Francisco researchers, was published online October 6, 2014 in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.

7 Oct 2014

Individuals can improve asthma symptoms by avoiding air pollution

People who suffer from asthma may think there's not a lot they can do to control their asthma besides properly taking medications and avoiding allergic triggers.

30 Sep 2014

California's drought linked to human-caused climate change, say Stanford scientists

The atmospheric conditions associated with the unprecedented drought currently afflicting California are "very likely" linked to human-caused climate change, Stanford scientists say.

30 Sep 2014

New OSU study shows association between gas kitchen stove ventilation and asthma

Parents with children at home should use ventilation when cooking with a gas stove, researchers from Oregon State University are recommending, after a new study showed an association between gas kitchen stove ventilation and asthma, asthma symptoms and chronic bronchitis.

30 Sep 2014

Researchers encourage efforts that benefit public health and environment

The number of extremely hot days in Eastern and Midwestern U.S. cities is projected to triple by mid-century, according to a new study led by University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers and published today in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

23 Sep 2014

Food allergies in inner-city children: an interview with Dr. Robert Wood

The general interest is in trying to better define the true prevalence of food allergy; not just how common it is, but whether it's becoming more common over time.

22 Sep 2014

Researchers show link between childhood asthma and prenatal exposure to phthalates

Researchers at the Columbia Center for Children's Environmental Health at the Mailman School of Public Health are the first to demonstrate an association between childhood asthma and prenatal exposure to two phthalates used in a diverse array of household products. Results appear online in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.

18 Sep 2014

NSF, NIH, USDA receive more than $12 million in new EEID grants

Ebola, MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), malaria, antibiotic-resistant infections: Is our interaction with the environment somehow responsible for their increased incidence?

11 Sep 2014

Expert lectures doctors about hidden dangers of wireless radiation from patients' cell phones, Wifi

An American public health expert will lecture Canadian doctors tomorrow about the hidden dangers of wireless radiation from their patients' cell phones, Wifi and other wireless consumer devices.

11 Sep 2014

Pollution in many cities threatens brain development in children

Pollution in many cities threatens the brain development in children. Findings by University of Montana Professor Dr. Lilian Calder-n-Garcidue-as, MA, MD, Ph.D., and her team of researchers reveal that children living in megacities are at increased risk for brain inflammation and neurodegenerative changes, including Alzheimer's or Parkinson's disease.

11 Sep 2014

First synthetic membranes made without solvents on silicon surfaces

Artificial membranes mimicking those found in living organisms have many potential applications ranging from detecting bacterial contaminants in food to toxic pollution in the environment to dangerous diseases in people.

10 Sep 2014

Birth weight measurements can be used to predict lung function during late teenage years

A new study has found that factors, such as birth weight, gestational age at birth and lung function, growth and other measures at 8 years, can be used to predict lung function during mid to late teenage years.

9 Sep 2014

Baby has greater risk of asthma if father smoked prior to conception

A baby has a greater risk of asthma if his or her father smoked prior to conception. The research, presented at the European Respiratory Society (ERS) International Congress in Munich today (08 September 2014), is the first study in humans to analyse the link between a father's smoking habits before conception and a child's asthma.

8 Sep 2014