Pollution News and Research

Latest Pollution News and Research

BU professor to study incidence of hypertension, diabetes and asthma in African American women

Patricia F. Coogan, ScD, an associate professor of epidemiology at Boston University's Slone Epidemiology Center (SEC), recently was awarded funding for two grants from the National Institutes of Health.

21 Dec 2011

EPA rule to help protect kids' brain from autism

SafeMinds sees a brighter future after the implementation of long-overdue EPA regulation of hazardous air pollution from coal-fired power plants. Less mercury means its potent neurotoxic effects are less likely to harm childhood development.

16 Dec 2011

Increased temperatures can shorten gestation time and lead to stillbirth

Queensland University of Technology (QUT) world-first research has found a link between increases in temperature and the incidence of stillbirth and shorter pregnancies.

16 Dec 2011

UV rays help prevent spread of chickenpox

Ultraviolet rays help prevent the spread of chickenpox, meaning people in milder climates are more at risk of catching the disease, according to new research. The discovery could lead to new ways of preventing chickenpox and its more severe relative, shingles.

16 Dec 2011

HDE and DEP exposure can lead to development of asthma

A study conducted by researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) has found that diesel exhaust particulates (DEP) and house dust extract (HDE) causes pulmonary inflammation that aggravates asthma.

15 Dec 2011

Nighttime-lights imagery can pinpoint disease hotspots

Normally used to spot where people live, satellite images of nighttime lights can help keep tabs on the diseases festering among them, too, according to new research.

9 Dec 2011

Exposure to smoke decreases lung function in firefighters

After monitoring firefighters working at prescribed burns in the southeastern U.S., University of Georgia researchers found that lung function decreased with successive days of exposure to smoke and other particulate matter.

8 Dec 2011

New alveoli continue to be formed as lungs grow

A ground-breaking international study into the ways lungs grow and develop has challenged existing medical understanding that our lungs are completely formed by the age of three.

7 Dec 2011

International trade agreements need to help save water globally: UNESCO

With greater water scarcity in some regions and increasing global demand for high quality water, international trade agreements need to help save water globally. This was the main conclusion of a special report, published by the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education.

6 Dec 2011

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