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Current query:Type: Scientific Studies
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Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
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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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Researchers have determined that exposure to low levels of mercury can encourage clotting of red blood cells, a dangerous condition called thrombosis that contributes to cardiovascular disease.
The research shows that red blood cells, when dying after exposure to mercury, release proteins that encourage blood cells and platelets to clot and clump together inside vessels. The increased clots can worsen existing cardiovascular disease and raise its risk in others. 23 June 2010. More...
Two new studies - one human and one rat - show that active BPA and its inactive metabolite freely cross the placenta from a pregnant mother to the fetus.
Even more important are the chemical transformations that occur in the fetus: the active form of BPA remains active while the inactive form can be converted to the active form. Together, these studies provide evidence that prebirth exposures occur in people and may pose a bigger risk to the developing fetus than previously thought. 7 June 2010. More...
PBDEs -- chemicals widely used to prevent fires in household products like furniture and electronics -- may contribute to fertility problems by lengthening the time it takes for a woman to get pregnant, according to a study of low-income, mostly Mexican-American women living in California.
The study is one of the first to examine if PBDEs can affect human fertility. Animal studies show that PBDEs can alter behavior, delay the onset of puberty and impact sex hormones and thyroid hormones. These, in turn, may influence ovulation, menstrual cycle regularity and fertility. 3 June 2010. More...
Newborn mice fed genistein-enriched soy formula during the first five days of life developed abnormalities of the ovary, uterus and thymus gland that were estrogen related and persisted into adulthood.
As adults, the mice had fewer reproductive cycles in a month than the untreated mice. The findings show that eating genistein right after birth causes short and long-term changes and raises concerns for health effects on human infants fed soy-based formula during their early months. 2 June 2010. More...
A family of common environmental contaminants, PCBs, can damage and break the important protein links between cells that line the intestine and form a protective barrier into the body.
The breaks allow the chemicals to move through the outer buffer cells and "leak" into surrounding tissues where they may cause the systemic toxic health effects associated with the compounds. 19 May 2010. More...
Chronic stress coupled with breathing traffic-related particulate air pollution leads to severe respiratory problems in rats.
The animal study found that higher exposures to traffic-related air pollution were associated with a rapid, shallow breathing pattern only among chronically stressed rats. The results are consistent with human studies that report stronger health effects of air pollution among those who experience higher levels of social stressors, such as exposure to violence. 18 May 2010. More...
A new study finds associations between exposure to bisphenol A and blood levels of thyroid and reproductive hormones.
Researchers found that men with higher urine BPA concentrations had higher blood levels of follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH) and lower levels of inhibin B. Elevated FSH and depressed inhibin B have been associated with poorer sperm quality in humans. 5 May 2010. More...
Two new studies show remarkably high levels of PBDE flame retardants in the bodies of California children.
PBDE body burden levels in two separate populations of California children were 10 to 1,000 times higher than European children, 2 to 10 times higher than other U.S. children and adults, and approached levels measured in occupationally-exposed adults. 3 May 2010. More...
A new study has found an association between children’s potential for developing disruptive behavior disorders and exposure before birth to the types of phthalates found in fragrances, shampoos, lotions and cosmetics.
The pregnant women who had higher levels of these chemicals in their urine during their third trimester of pregnancy were more likely to have a child who scored below average on behavior and executive functioning tests at 4-9 years of age. The test scores are known to be correlated with clinical diagnoses of behavior or conduct problems and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorders. 29 April 2010. More...
A study of children born near a PCB-contaminated harbor in Massachusetts finds that prenatal exposure to banned persistent organic pollutants - specifically PCBs and DDE - may be linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The results are consistent with previous human and animal studies that have found links between PCB levels and ADHD-like behaviors, such as inattention and impulsivity. This may be the first time the behaviors are associated with DDE exposure. 20 April 2010. More...
A study in people adds to the growing evidence and concern that mercury can alter the immune system in ways that may promote autoimmune diseases such as arthritis and lupus.
This is the first time mercury has been shown to affect in people the immune signaling proteins that are responsible for inducing inflammation. The results support recent animal studies that find similar changes to rodent immune systems after mercury exposure. 13 April 2010. More...
In the first study to examine the relationship between dioxin and likelihood of conception, researchers report that higher dioxin levels are associated with difficulty in conceiving and higher rates of infertility.
Having high levels of TCDD doubled a woman's chances of taking more than 12 months to conceive. The results come from long-term research on the effects of dioxin exposure caused by an explosion of a chemical plant in Seveso, Italy, in 1976. 9 April 2010. More...
Children exposed to insecticides before birth through their mothers were up to two years behind in thinking, learning and memory abilities when they reached ages 6 to 8 years old, finds a study of children from northern Ecuador.
They also had higher blood pressures. The results mimic those of a pilot study done by the same research group and agree with a growing body of evidence that suggests fetal exposure to pesticides during development – especially during certain windows – is of concern. 6 April 2010. More...
A new study in mice shows that exposure to an allergen through breast milk can actively program a pup's immune system to prevent asthma later in life.
The research suggests that a mom's exposure to allergens during breastfeeding can help protect her baby from reacting to those allergens later in life. 5 April 2010. More...
Research shows for the first time that plastic nanoparticles can cross the human placenta, possibly exposing the developing fetus to the tiny materials that are increasingly used in medicines, vaccines and personal care products.
The results confirm that smaller sizes of the manufactured materials are able to cross the placenta at a time toward the end of pregnancy when the membrane barrier between mom and fetus is thinner. The growing brain and other organs may be exposed to the particles that have unknown health effects. 29 March 2010. More...
Researchers have found that the extent of harm caused by certain common compounds could be influenced by a person’s genes and lifestyle. Two people exposed to the same amount of a chemical could have different levels in their blood and respond differently.
The study looked at seven elements, which included arsenic, cadmium, copper, lead, mercury, selenium and zinc. Test subjects included 2,926 adult Australian twins. 16 March 2010. More...
Babies born to women with higher levels of the herbicide metolachlor in their babies' umbilical cord blood weighed less than babies born to women with lower measured levels of the pesticide.
Metolachlor is a weed killer that is applied to soil to prevent the growth of weeds. It is widely used in agriculture and along roadsides. Metolachlor is frequently found in ground water due to agricultural runoff. 10 March 2010. More...
Men who are exposed to benzene at levels close to the U.S. permissible limit are more likely to have an abnormal number of chromosomes in their sperm, according to new research.
Having the wrong number of chromosomes in sperm or eggs is the largest known source of miscarriage in people. 16 February 2010. More...
New research suggests that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during gestation and lactation lowers male fertility in adulthood and that the effect may persist for at least three generations.
The rat study tested relatively low levels of BPA chosen to fall within the range of human exposure. It is the first to indicate that BPA might have transgenerational effects on male reproductive health. 9 February 2010. More...
Exposure to very low concentrations of the plastic monomer bisphenol A (BPA) causes cellular damage and death in cultured human placenta cells, researchers report.
The doses used for this study are similar to blood levels found in pregnant women. Particularly concerning was the observation that that effects were most pronounced at the lowest - rather than the highest - concentrations of BPA. 2 February 2010. More...
Women who were fed soy-based infant formula as babies are 25 percent more likely to develop uterine fibroids than those who were breastfed or given milk-based formula.
Fibroids affect about a quarter of all women and are the leading cause of hysterectomy. This is the first study to examine whether exposure to soy estrogens early in life is associated with fibroids development later in life. 1 February 2010. More...
A study of breast milk samples from more than 300 women in North Carolina found flame retardants were highest in women aged 25 to 29.
The PBDEs were detected in almost three-quarters of the women in the study. Women older than 35 had the lowest levels. 25 January 2010. More...
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