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While all links worked when entries were posted to the database, different publishers
have different policies about retaining articles and providing access to archived material.
Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
For links no longer working, you may be able to gain paid access to text via the publisher's site.
The immune system may underlie several, seemingly unrelated health problems, many of which surface in childhood and precede others experienced across a lifetime, according to researchers who liken these early life immune dysfunctions to canaries in a coal mine.
For example, "entryway" childhood diseases involving the immune system - such as asthma and type 1 diabetes - are frequently triggered by prenatal exposures to chemicals, pharmaceuticals and other environmental factors. 10 September 2010. More...
Polypropylene plastic (PP) was less flammable yet remained strong when mixed with two chemicals considered safer than those currently used as flame retardants, report Chinese researchers.
The new flame retardant is a step forward in finding an alternative to traditional systems that are based on halogen-containing chemicals and antimony trioxide, say the researchers who developed the chemical blend. Alternatives are desired to prevent toxic, corrosive gases from forming during fires and to avoid threats from exposures via use in consumer products. 10 September 2010. More...
Analyzing data together from two large databases opens up next steps in understanding how the environment interacts with genes to influence disease, according to two Stanford scientists who are trying to untangle the interrelated effects.
Using data mining tools they found, for example, that breast and prostate cancers are associated with estrogenic chemicals, including the natural human estrogen, estradiol, a plant estrogen found in soy called genistein and bisphenol A, the synthetic estrogen used to make polycarbonate plastics and can linings. 9 September 2010. More...
A large, multi-lab endeavor has identified the most common byproducts formed during drinking water disinfection and developed methods to study and understand their health impacts.
Scientists identified more than 100 chemical byproducts and measured the levels of 75 of the most harmful and highly regulated ones. It was the first time many of the chemicals had ever been detected. 3 September 2010. More...
Minute silver nanoparticles-- widely used in consumer products as antimicrobial agents-- can cause sperm cells to stop growing, according to a new study.
The nanoparticles interrupt key cell signaling within the sperm cells as they develop. The biggest effects were caused by the smallest-sized nanoparticles tested. 1 September 2010. More...
New research shows that the drugs and contaminants that often contaminate sewage sludge that is used as fertilizer can be taken up by the plants grown in fertilized fields and gardens.
Also called 'biosolids,' these fertilizers are regularly applied to agricultural fields and are sometimes packaged as organic soil fertilizers sold in home improvement stores. 30 August 2010. More...
Higher levels of manganese in hair and blood are associated with lower IQ in children, especially girls, who live near a manganese processing site, finds a study of Mexican children.
Despite being an essential element, high levels of manganese may cause cognitive and intellectual deficits, especially if exposure occurs during childhood. Few studies have examined the impact of airborne manganese on children's intelligence. 25 August 2010. More...
During heavy rainfall, disease-causing microbes usually relegated to sewage water can enter surface or ground water used for drinking and drive up emergency room visits for gastrointestinal problems, say researchers who compared children's hospital visits and rainfall for five years in Wisconsin.
In the United States, each year, there are approximately 19 million cases of gastrointestinal illness that are potentially related to contamination of public drinking water systems. Because global climate change is expected to cause heavier precipitation in some areas, it is important to understand the link between more rain and increased incidence of waterborne disease. 17 August 2010. More...
Advanced wastewater treatments can reduce the endocrine disrupting effects of the effluent on fish, according to a study that pinpoints the most effective methods.
Conventional sewage treatment does not usually remove all of these compounds. Fish are then exposed when the estrogens are released into waterways. 16 August 2010. More...
A new technology for removing toxic sulfur compounds from diesel fuel could provide a cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternative to the currently used method, according to research published in the journal Green Chemistry.
Finding an innovative way to remove the sulfer is important because clean, low-sulfur diesel is becoming more widely used in Europe and the United States. Diesel cars have 20 - 40 percent better fuel economy and also produce 10 - 20 percent less greenhouse emissions per mile than their gasoline rivals. 13 August 2010. More...
Egyptian women living in cities are three to four times more likely to develop breast cancer than women living in rural areas, a difference that may be due to exposures and/or lifestyle.
These from Egypt parallel previous reports of urban-rural differences in breast cancer incidence from China and India. In those countries, urban living increased breast cancer rates by the same margins of three to four times when compared to rural environments. 10 August 2010. More...
Chemists in Germany have figured out a way to extract energy from just water and oxygen. The discovery uses existing fuel cell technology and minimal additional chemicals, providing a safer way to generate electricity for low-power applications.
Remarkably, the fuel cell setup can be used to generate electricity from water and air, producing just water and oxygen as byproducts. 9 August 2010. More...
Children exposed to PCBs in their first years of life are less likely to be protected from diseases by vaccinations, according to a new study.
Exposure to PCBs is strongly associated with lower antibody levels. The results may help understand why effectiveness of vaccines varies so much among children. 6 August 2010. More...
People who live in houses with higher levels of flame retardant chemicals in the dust have themselves higher levels of the chemicals in their blood, a finding that implicates dust as a major exposure source for the compounds.
Prior studies point to dust and food as major sources of exposure to PBDE chemicals. While some foods do harbor PBDEs, eating and breathing dust appears to be the main source of exposure in the United States. 23 July 2010. More...
Researchers at Yale University have developed a custom membrane that can clean and purify water from oceans, salty ground water or sewage water with far less energy input than currently is required to do a similar job.
The membrane may be a big step forward in reaching the goal of reliable and affordable sources of fresh water. Finding sustainable sources of clean drinking water is a major global challenge, especially in most of the developing world. 21 July 2010. More...
Pregnant women who live in areas close to electronic waste dismantling sites have higher exposures to persistent organic pollutants and depressed thyroid hormone levels than those who live farther away from the facilities, finds a study that compares women in two regions of China.
Even without direct interactions with the e-waste facility, recycling affected women living adjacent to the sites. This study raises concerns about e-waste practices and health effects on both the mothers and the developing fetuses. 20 July 2010. More...
Leftover residues of a compound made from bisphenol A (BPA) for use in food can linings reacts with sugars, proteins and other parts of food to form new molecules, researchers report.
The findings show how critical it is to understand the extent of chemical migration from resin linings into the can's contents and what happens to the compounds once they interact with the food and beverage. 19 July 2010. More...
German researchers report more evidence of another risk factor for developing type II diabetes: traffic related air pollution. After following a group of middle-aged women for 16 years, the authors find that exposure to high levels of air pollution is associated with an increased risk of type II diabetes in later years.
Women with high serum levels of a protein by-product associated with low-level inflammation or infection, were particularly prone to developing diabetes in response to pollutants. 15 July 2010. More...
Infants with higher exposures to three contaminants – perchlorate, nitrate or thiocyanate – found in water, food and tobacco smoke had increased levels of thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH), a sign that the thyroid gland may not be working properly.
The results are important because infants with poor thyroid function are at risk for stunted growth and mental impairment. 13 July 2010. More...
Arsenic carried to rice fields by contaminated irrigation water tends to accumulate in top soil layers where the rice takes it up, contaminating the grain, lowering its nutritional value and exposing large populations who depend on it for food.
Rice is one of the largest sources of arsenic exposure for people in Bangladesh and India, representing about half the total intake 12 July 2010. More...
Researchers at the University of Iowa have discovered that PCBs are present in many more kinds of paint pigment than previously known. While the US EPA knew about some of the contamination, the extent of the problem is a surprise.
The researchers suggest that the contaminated pigments used in a variety of paints, inks, cosmetics, plastics and other consumer goods are probably a source of ongoing exposures in humans. 9 July 2010. More...
Lead levels in both soil and children declined dramatically after hurricanes twice flooded New Orleans in 2005. The researchers who report the results propose that the flooding altered the soil lead conditions, thereby lowering children's exposure to the neurotoxin.
In almost all of the neighborhoods tested, soil lead levels fell by almost 50 percent to well below federal safety standards. At the same time, children's blood lead levels decreased more than 30 percent. 8 July 2010. More...
Children who breathe traffic-related air pollution at school are more likely to develop asthma, even after taking into account levels of air pollution at their homes, report researchers in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives.
This study adds to the small, but growing, body of research implicating traffic-related air pollution in the development of asthma. In addition, this study suggests that places away from home where children spend time play an important role in their health. 7 July 2010. More...
A first attempt at measuring flame retardants and PCBs in dust from daycare centers and classrooms in the United Kingdom shows these facilities to be an important source of exposure for toddlers and young children, with a small group of them experiencing very high exposures.
Researchers may be underestimating the impact from these facilities, as levels of certain chemical types were higher than those from house dust or car dust. 6 July 2010. More...
Brief exposure to low levels of bisphenol A during pregnancy may contribute to diabetic symptoms in the mother and her sons - but not daughters - finds a study with mice.
BPA, which acts like estrogen and can interfere with normal hormone activity, caused changes in the mothers that resembled gestational diabetes. This study adds to a growing body of research evidence that, when taken together, suggests BPA causes health problems in animals and quite possibly in humans. 1 July 2010. More...
Bacteria living in human intestines can change arsenic's chemistry, in some cases producing a more toxic form that is linked to cancer.
This is the first report of arsenic becoming more harmful as it passes through the human digestive track. The results parallel those found in animal studies and suggest that regulators may need to take into account the way exposures occur when determining the health risks associated with arsenic. 30 June 2010. More...
Eating vegetables rich in nitrogen in the same meal with fish increases risks for liver cancer, finds a laboratory study.
The increased risk – though marginal – occurs when substances in the fish and the vegetables form a cancer-causing agent in the acidic environment of the stomach. The chemical is called N-nitrosodimethylamine or NMDA. NMDA is a strong cancer-causing agent in animals and is listed as a probable human carcinogen. 30 June 2010. More...
Long-term exposure to nitrates through food and water may increase a woman's risk of thyroid disease, finds a study of older women in Iowa.
This is the first study to show a link between nitrates and thyroid cancer in people, although nitrates have been shown to cause thyroid tumors in animal studies. Thyroid cancer is the eighth most common cancer among women. In the United States, the incidence of thyroid cancer has increased steadily since 1980. 29 June 2010. More...
Chemical byproducts produced by a fungus effectively killed almost three-quarters of adult mosquitoes tested from three disease-carrying species, showing there are viable alternatives to conventional insecticides.
Mosquito control is a vital public health tool, especially in tropical regions where malaria is endemic. This particular fungus' metabolite could be a promising alternative to some of the synthetic pesticides used to control mosquito populations. 29 June 2010. More...
Reproductive problems leading to infertility were seen in female fish exposed to pthalates at levels generally found in the environment.
The results are some of the first to show the plasticizers can affect females as well as males, report researchers in the online journal PLoSOne. This preliminary evidence of the effects of DEHP on the female reproductive system suggests that further study on females is warranted in other species, including humans. 28 June 2010. More...
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