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Environmental Health
Forest and crop fires destroy DNA in lungs cells
When exposed in a laboratory to pollution levels comparable to those found in the atmosphere of the Amazon region during the forest and crop...
The role of temperature and atmospheric pressure in heart failure deaths
Exposure to cold or high-pressure weather could trigger events leading to hospitalisation or death in heart failure patients, found a Canadian study. The authors...
Children showing early signs of heart disease 16 years after 9/11
Sixteen years after the collapse of the World Trade Centre towers sent a cloud of toxic debris across Lower Manhattan, children living nearby who...
Rise in CO2 levels cutting dietary protein in staple crops
If CO2 levels continue to rise as projected, the populations of 18 countries may lose more than 5% of their dietary protein by 2050...
Everyday chemicals linked to chronic disease in men
Chemicals found in everyday plastics materials are linked to cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes and high blood pressure in men, according to Australian researchers.
Researchers from...
A decade later, banned chemicals still passing through umbilical cord
Trace amounts of flame retardants, banned in the US for more than a decade, are still being passed through umbilical cord blood from mothers...
Air pollution cuts life expectancy by far more than thought
A Danish study shows that, on average, an increase in pollution particles in the air of 10 micrograms per cubic metre cuts victims' life...
Exposure to common flame retardants may raise risk of PTC
Some flame retardants used in many home products appear to be associated with the most common type of thyroid cancer, papillary thyroid cancer (PTC),...
Plastics substitute may increase breast cancer aggressiveness
Bisphenol S (BPS), a substitute for the chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in the plastic industry, shows the potential for increasing the aggressiveness of breast...
Lead bullets at shooting ranges a health risk, should be phased out
Lead released when people fire weapons at shooting ranges creates such a health risk that lead bullets should be phased out, according to Australian...
Pollution's impact on foetal growth
Women pregnant during the 2008 Beijing Olympics, when pollution levels were reduced by decree, gave birth to children with higher birth weights compared to those who were pregnant before and after the games.
Foul air heightens stroke risk, anxiety
Air pollution is linked to a higher risk of stroke, particularly in developing countries, a 28-country University of Edinburgh meta-analysis found. Other research shows air pollution to be associated with anxiety, according to a large Johns Hopkins and Harvard study.
Nursing home pollutants damage lung health
The indoor air quality in nursing homes has a serious effect on the lung health of elderly residents, found the first study to detail the negative effects of pollutants from heaters, building materials, furniture, cleaning products, disinfectants and cooling systems in seven European Union countries.
Pollutants play a role in obesity
Subjects with more of certain environmental pollutants in their organisms present greater obesity, as well as higher levels of cholesterol and triglycerides - risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
Common pesticide adds to ADHD risk
Pyrethroid pesticide may alter the development of the brain’s dopamine system and increase the risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Order in children, according to a Rutgers study using data from animal models and humans.
Effects of pesticide exposure could be passed down the generations
Washington State University researchers say ancestral exposures to the pesticide methoxychlor may lead to adult onset kidney disease, ovarian disease and obesity in future...
Contact with pesticides while pregnant linked to autism
A study suggests that pregnant women who live within a mile of spaces where commercial pesticides are applied, appear to have an increased risk...