How can you tell whether an agency has been captured?
It’s recently been reported that scientists have managed to create a test to measure how much urine is in a swimming pool.
Mercury pollution is a problem usually associated with fish consumption. But some people in China, the world’s largest mercury emitter, are exposed to more methylmercury from rice than they are from fish.
Exposure to fracking chemicals in utero may harm the immune system and diminish the ability of female offspring to fend off diseases like multiple sclerosis, according to a new study with mice.
It’s hard not to empathize with the people in the smoggy images of New Delhi or Ulaanbataar or Kathmandu, often wearing masks, walking to school or work though soupy cloudiness.
There is growing evidence to suggest that air pollution does not just affect our health – it affects our behavior too.
A new scientific study shows that bright electric light exposure of preschool children in the evening suppresses melatonin production almost completely, an important addition to the growing body of research in this area.
We poisoned ourselves with lead during the 20th century in most industrial nations. We used the metal widely, because lead paint is durable, engines run better on leaded gasoline and lead water pipes don’t rust.
Graphene is something of a celebrity in the world of nanoscale materials. Isolated in 2004 by Nobel Prize winners Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov
Anxiety caused by exposure to pollution may make people more prone to cheating and unethical behavior, according to new research. And that can be a driver behind the higher crime rates in high-pollution areas.
The search for autism’s causes is a daunting task — but researchers are investigating a variety of factors that might play a role.
Theresa May’s new environment plan sets ambitious goals for plastic waste reduction. But there’s lots of room for slippage. One goal is to eradicate all “avoidable” plastic waste, though it’s not clear how “avoidable” will be defined.
A common herbicide is ending up in our food, thanks to the growing practice of using it to dry crops in preparation for harvest. In addition to speeding crop drying, glyphosate can help synchronize ripening in plants at harvest time.
Humans have built high-rises since ancient Roman times, but it wasn’t until the 20th century that they became the default work space for a significant slice of the world’s workers. While these buildings are certainly efficient, they can cause real health issues.
Runoff from melting snow carries road salt into streams and lakes, and causes extraordinarily high salinity.
Antibiotics are losing their ability to kill bacteria. One of the main reasons for the rise in antibiotic resistance is the improper use of antibiotics, but our latest research shows that the ingredients in commonly-used weed killers like Round-up and Kamba can also cause bacteria to become less susceptible to antibiotics.
Infectious diseases are spreading faster due to warmer temperatures, hunger and malnourishment is worsening, allergy seasons are getting longer and sometimes it’s simply too hot for farmers to tend to their crops. But what would happen if we treated climate change as a health problem rather than an environmental one?
The higher the level of particulates in the air, a new study shows, the greater the indications of psychological distress. Where a person lives can make a big difference to health and quality of life. Every increase in pollution of 5 micrograms per cubic meter had the same effect as a 1.5-year loss in education.
What substances in wildfire smoke are most dangerous to human health? What kinds of impacts can they have? Is a brief exposure, say for a few hours, dangerous, or is smoke mainly a concern if it lingers for days?
New sales of petrol and diesel cars will be banned by 2040 in the UK; France. Sweden and Scotland by 2032; Norway by 2025. Coupled with increasing concern over the carcinogenic effects of diesel emissions, the Volkswagen defeat device scandal, and the link between diesel particulates and Alzheimer’s, focus has turned again to electric cars.
In the end, the military campaign was called Operation Ranch Hand, but it originally went by a more appropriately hellish appellation
People in northern China have a reduced life expectancy when compared with people living in the south due to higher concentrations of air pollution, a new study suggests.
Subways are vital for commuting in crowded cities, something that will become more and more important over time – according to a United Nations 2014 report, half of the world’s population is now urban. They can also play a part in reducing outdoor air pollution in large metropolises by helping to reduce motor-vehicle use.