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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.
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...
Flourescing fish may offer a quick and easy way to test if specific chemicals – or complex mixtures found in the environment – will affect the thyroid gland and its normal hormonal functions.
With so many chemical contaminants in the environment, rapid screening tools that target specific physiological processes or tissues are increasingly valuable to regulators and researchers. 2 October 2009. More...
New research in Virginia reports that levels of hormones key for growth and controlling stress were skewed in tree swallow nestlings contaminated with mercury.
The study finds some of the highest mercury levels ever measured in wild songbird nestlings. The researchers point to the birds' insect food as the source of contamination. 10 September 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...
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...
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...
Several long-lived pollutants measured in the blood of Canadian Inuits, including stain repellents, are associated with altered thyroid hormone levels, according to new research.
The study highlights again how long-persisting environmental pollutants can accumulate in people and alter normal hormone levels. It is unique because it included women and is one of the first large-scale studies to look at the stain repellent PFOS's effects on thyroid hormone. 5 August 2009. More...
Male rats reach puberty later and have skewed hormone levels after exposure to high concentrations of DEHP, a phthalate.
The researchers tested a wide range of DEHP levels in two different strains of rats and compared when the animals from the differen test groups hit puberty. The doses used – 10, 100, 300 and 900 milligrams per kilogram of rat body weight – are much higher than levels measured in people. 21 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...
Developmental exposure to PCBs can permanently damage hearing but co-exposure with methyl mercury reduces the effects.
The mercury doses were selected to achieve a ratio of PCBs to methyl mercury similar to that found in walleye caught by fisherman in Wisconsin, but the doses were higher than those typically encountered by people. 25 June 2009. More...
A bacteria-killing chemical widely used in an array of consumer products has made its way down kitchen and bathroom sinks and into dolphins living in US coastal waters.
Researchers report for the first time that a marine mammal--the bottlenose dolphin--is accumulating triclosan from water bodies where treated sewage is released. The study examined animals from rivers, an estuary, a harbor and a lagoon in South Carolina and Florida. 18 June 2009. More...
A new study shows that pesticides, some already banned for decades from the US market, continue to persist in homes.
DDT and chlordane – two pesticides that have been banned for decades – were found in 42 percent and 74 percent of homes respectively. Chlorpyrifos and diazinon, both banned for several years, were detected in 78 percent and 35 percent of homes respectively. 16 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...
Our morning cereal may be setting us up for a fungus invasion that lowers the protective actions of the intestines, leading to illness or intestinal problems.
A new research study describes how one of these toxins can damage the intestinal tract by changing its defensive protein layer. These changes weakened the intestinal barrier and allowed more bacteria to cross through the intestinal wall. 4 May 2009. More...
A recent study conducted in California’s Central Valley found that people who lived near fields sprayed with a combination of pesticides used on crops such as potatoes, dry beans and tomatoes had an increased risk of Parkinson’s disease.
These results add to the growing literature suggesting that exposure to multiple chemicals may be more harmful than exposure to individual chemicals and contribute to the debate of evaluating chemical safety one at a time rather than in combination. 27 April 2009. More...
A study with mice finds that diet can modify the harmful effects of bisphenol A. The findings shed light on perceived inconsistencies in BPA research results.
Differences in diet dramatically altered the risk that mouse oocytes would develop errors in how chromosomes are aligned during cell division after exposure to BPA. When these errors occur in people, they can cause spontaneous miscarriage and severe disabilities. 9 April 2009. More...
Researchers find for the first time that mice exposed to dioxin during development or while nursing have a diminished capacity to fight a flu infection later in life.
Mouse pups born to pregnant mice that were exposed to a small amount of the ubiquitous and persistent pollutants had fewer white blood cells that normally kill the flu virus and more of a different kind that increases lung inflammation. The increased inflammation can make the disease more severe and recovery more difficult. 18 March 2009. More...
For the first time, scientists find that extremely low levels of some types of environmental estrogens disrupt specialized brain cells and their ability to regulate brain chemistry. All of the EEs tested changed the way cells released and reabsorbed dopamine, an important chemical messenger that governs movement and pleasure.
These changes may explain how EEs contribute to nervous system diseases, such as Parkinsons and schizophrenia, that are caused by abnormal dopamine responses. 3 March 2009. More...
Research using a powerful statistical model suggests that chemical mixes in wastewater feminize male fish.
Scientists in the United Kingdom report that more than one type of hormonally active chemical -- not just those that act like estrogen -- play a role in sex reversal of male fish. Anti-androgens also contribute. 2 March 2009. More...
A PCB mix altered reproductive hormones and organ growth in two generations of female rats that were never directly exposed to the chemicals themselves.
The abnormalities worsened in the granddaughters when compared to the daughters. The worst effects were seen at the mid -- not the highest or lowest -- level tested. Levels were within the range of human exposure. 27 February 2009. More...
Weather changes due to global climate change could substantially increase people's exposure to many pathogens and toxic agricultural contaminants, predicts a study from the United Kingdom.
The full health implications are uncertain. Managing the risks will require research as well as policy changes. 26 February 2009. More...
The type of chemicals someone is exposed to in the womb, or soon after birth, may predetermine the risk for developing respiratory infections as an infant and allergy and asthma as an adult, according to a study that focused on PCBs and DDE.
In the study, both the amount and type of PCBs a baby was exposed to in the womb, or in the first three months after birth, affected the number of respiratory infections a child had. Some types of PCBs seemed to be associated with increased respiratory infections; other types seemed be associated with fewer infections. 5 January 2009. More...
Studying beaches on a region-wide basis and not individually is a better way to manage beach health.
Swimming beach health can be better managed if the beaches are studied on a region-wide basis and not individually. New methods of studying beaches are needed because the status quo approach of monitoring individual beaches is challenging and costly. 11 December 2008. More...
A new method of identifying airborne bacteria offers a new tool to control disease outbreaks and epidemics.
The technique is based on the observation that bacteria are constantly using between indoor air and people. By monitoring indoor air for the DNA signature of dangerous pathogens, scientists can determine whether they should prepare for a disease outbreak. 14 November 2008. More...
In a unique study, researchers show that exposure to PCBs in rats interferes with learning by stopping the brain from forming complex nerve networks essential for memory and intellect.
This effect could underpin some of the impacts that PCBs have on children's ability to learn. 7 November 2008. More...
Thirty-six scientists conclude in a peer-reviewed commentary that the FDA's draft decision on bisphenol A uses unacceptable criteria for selecting data and depends heavily upon a key paper that is fatally flawed.
The NIH-funded research rejected by the FDA is likely to produce reliable and valid scientific data than the studies used by the agency in its draft. 30 October 2008. More...
Research in Denmark indicates that pregnant women exposed to pesticides at work have an increased risk of sons with abnormal reproductive development.
Their sons are more likely to have undescended testicles, smaller testicles and shorter penises. 4 October 2008. More...
Drinking coffee may benefit health by targeting and killing viruses such as herpes and poliovirus, according to new research from Japan.
Coffee both reduced herpes virus's ability to spread to other cells and halted their reproduction. With polio virus, the extracts stopped viral multiplication. 30 September 2008. More...
Some people are much more sensitive to arsenic poisoning than others. In this new study, researchers used fruit flies to discover the gene that may be responsible for these differences.
The gene they discovered produces an enzyme called glutathione synthetase which is important for detoxifying arsenic. 23 September 2008. More...
Researchers testing deep aquifers used for drinking water found human viruses, challenging the assumption that these crucial water supplies are protected from surface contamination.
Samples from three public water supply wells that draw from a 240-foot deep aquifer in Wisconsin contained human intestinal viruses, which as a group are associated with diseases such as meningitis, encephalitis, newborn enteroviral disease and polio. 2 December 2007. More...
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