News by Subject Biology

Researchers find higher concentrations of trace metals such as barium in the hair and urine of 29 pregnant women living near fracking wells in British Columbia, Canada.

Researchers at the University of Oxford have confirmed that human activity and other external factors are responsible for the rise in global temperature.

Waterpipe tobacco smoking, otherwise known as 'hookah' or 'shisha,' is becoming increasingly popular worldwide, especially among youth. Traditional hookahs burn charcoal as a heat source, but recently, electrical heating elements (EHEs) have been introduced to the market. Reinforced by product advertising and package labeling, many hookah smokers believe that EHEs are less harmful than charcoal. Now, researchers report in ACS' Chemical Research in Toxicology that although EHEs reduce some toxicants, they increase others.

Fewer deaths and serious illnesses have occurred in the US over the past decade as a result of cleaner air, according to a new report focusing on the two most potent air pollutants: fine particle (PM2.5) and ground-level ozone (O3). However, these improvements are almost entirely due to reductions in PM2.5 pollution.

A new study from researchers at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center looks at the correlation between exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) and childhood anxiety, by looking at the altered neurochemistry in pre-adolescents.

Researchers in Brazil find that high levels of heavy metals and particulate matter suspended in the atmosphere restrict the growth of tipuana trees, which are ubiquitous in São Paulo, the largest Brazilian city.