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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.
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Despite having phased out the use of organochlorine pesticides in the 1990’s, the chemicals continue to be detected in sewage sludge in Australia.
As in many countries, the sewage sludge - the solid part of processed sewage - is often recycled and used to fertilize crops. This suggests the banned pesticides are still present in agricultural areas of Australia. 23 April 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...
A study conducted in Massachusetts suggests that exposure to perchloroethylene through drinking water may be associated with an increased risk for certain congenital anomalies, but the results are not entirely conclusive.
Women whose estimated PCE exposure was higher may have a 50 percent increased risk of birth defects. Women ever exposed to PCE also had a 3-fold increased risk of giving birth to babies with neural tube defects or oral clefts. 28 January 2010. More...
Silver nanoparticles used as antimicrobials in fabric can leach out of clothes as they are being washed. One brand lost over half of its silver content from the fabric with just two washings.
The discovery raises questions about potential effects of human and environmental exposures 7 January 2010. More...
Scientists report they found the anti-viral medication Tamiflu in rivers in Japanese cities during last year's flu season. Tamiflu is an antiviral drug used to slow the spread of the flu virus by both treating and preventing influenza, including H1N1 and avian flu (H5N1).
The contamination raises serious public health safety concerns about the overuse of antiviral drugs that may lead to development of Tamiflu-resistant flu strains. The results highlight a need for enhanced treatment of wastewater, especially during periods of elevated flu risk. 4 January 2010. More...
For the first time, research shows that nanoparticles called fullerenes are filtered out of water by oysters and taken up by their liver cells.
Fullerenes may cause long-term health problems in oysters and reduced survival and reproduction. 16 November 2009. More...
Exposure to arsenic causes human stem cells to transform into cancer cells, report researchers who studied the cells in a laboratory.
People in certain regions of the world are exposed to high levels of arsenic through drinking water tainted by the naturally-occurring element. The results of this new study may explain why arsenic is associated with several human cancers, including prostrate cancer in men. 5 November 2009. More...
Levels of antibiotics measured in streams, lakes and well water near pharmaceutical factories in India are 100,000 to 1,000,000 times higher than levels measured in waters that receive sewage effluent in the US or China.
Much of the world's supply of supply of generic antibiotics are produced in the study area. 9 September 2009. More...
A mother's contribution of pollutants to her offspring is more important to the survival of a young turtle than its exposure through food, according to a new wildlife study that compared the long-term effects of PCBs from both sources.
The results show for the first time that it is exposure from the mother, and not diet, that has more serious consequences for survival of these turtles. Additionally, the most severe effect --death-- was only seen after an 8-month delay. 3 September 2009. More...
The common and highly-used herbicide atrazine can act within the brain to disrupt the cascade of hormone signals needed to initiate ovulation, finds a new study.
The results shed new light on the way atrazine affects the female reproductive system and the persistence of these effects when adults are exposed. 20 August 2009. More...
Iron nanoparticles that are poised for use in large-scale pollution remediation can rapidly react with oxygen and cause lung cells to die.
The same qualities that make these particles potentially useful in environmental clean-up -- their high reactivity -- also make them potentially harmful to living things. Some of the reactions can release free radicals that can damage cell DNA. 12 August 2009. More...
Large piles of aging chicken manure to be used as fertilizer on farm crops can house bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, finds a new study.
The results raise concern that typical storage conditions may fail to keep the microbes from reaching people through contaminated food or drinking water. Poultry manure is not required to be treated before it is applied to farm fields. 7 August 2009. More...
Women who are having difficulty conceiving may want to cut back on their soy consumption after a mouse study reveals that dietary exposure to genistein, a compound found in soy foods, can reduce the odds of a successful pregnancy in multiple ways.
The results reveal how natural compounds like genistein may have both risks – it can act as an endocrine disurptor to affect female reproduction – and benefits - such as protecting the heart. 28 July 2009. More...
The herbicide atrazine lowers the production of androgen hormones in male rats by altering the genes responsible for making them.
This is the first study to show that atrazine directly affects the genes responsible for hormone production in testicular cells. 27 July 2009. More...
People who eat meat and poultry have significantly higher levels of common flame retardants compared to vegetarians.
The findings indicate that food may be a more important source of the contaminants, known as PBDEs, than previously thought. 22 July 2009. More...
A new study with mice links arsenic exposure to reduced immune response.
The results suggest those people most exposed to arsenic through their drinking water may be more susceptible to illness and possibly death when infected with the H1N1 swine flu virus. 17 July 2009. More...
A detailed analysis of all the available studies comparing work-related, parental pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia finds that the mother’s exposure during pregnancy can double her child’s risk of the disease. The father’s exposure before pregnancy does not.
The study emphasizes the significant contribution of prenatal exposure in developing childhood disease and shows a need for more in-depth studies of the effects of prenatal exposures to environmental factors. 17 June 2009. More...
Bacteria in sewage can chemically transform estrogenic compounds, converting them to back to their original chemical form as the sewage travels toward treatment plants after the compounds have been excreted by people.
The findings open the door to exploring new ways in which the estrogens that are more resistant to bacterial modification could be changed at the sewage treatment plant to make them easier to remove from the water. 5 June 2009. More...
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