Common household chemicals pose new threat to brain health

Research shows chemicals in countless household items harm specialized cells in the brain

03-Apr-2024 - A team of researchers from theCase Western Reserve University School of Medicinehas provided fresh insight into the dangers some common household chemicals pose to brain health. They suggest that chemicals found in a wide range of items, from furniture to hair products, may be linked to ...

Air pollution increases attributable to air conditioning

05-May-2017 - When summer temperatures rise and people turn to their air conditioners to stay cool, something else also increases: air pollution. A new study in the journal Environmental Science & Technology shows that the electricity production associated with air conditioning causes emissions of sulfur ...

Are cars nanotube factories on wheels?

Cars appear to produce carbon nanotubes, and some of the evidence has been found in human lungs

21-Oct-2015 - Rice University scientists working with colleagues in France have detected the presence of man-made carbon nanotubes in cells extracted from the airways of Parisian children under routine treatment for asthma. Further investigation found similar nanotubes in samples from the exhaust pipes of ...

ECETOC Task Force reports on thresholds in chemical respiratory sensitisation

21-May-2015 - A variety of chemicals are known to cause allergic sensitisation of the respiratory tract associated with allergic rhinitis and asthma. It is generally accepted that the development of sensitisation of the respiratory tract to chemicals is a threshold phenomenon. That is, a certain minimum level ...

Three wavelengths will do

Practical approach for assessing the melanin and blood content of the skin

24-Apr-2015 - Many factors can change skin pigmentation, including aging, exposure to UV light, certain drugs, as well as certain diseases. A simple technique for measuring skin pigmentation could be a helpful tool for research and diagnostics. The same goes for measuring the skin blood content. Alteration of ...

Thousands of potentially harmful natural gas leaks found in Washington

20-Jan-2014 - High levels of natural gas are escaping from the aging pipes beneath the streets of the nation's capital, creating potentially harmful concentrations in some locations, a new study has found. Natural gas leaks pose explosion risks, health concerns and contribute to climate change. The paper, ...

Personal care products are possible sources of potentially harmful parabens for babies

17-Jan-2014 - Through lotions, shampoos and other personal care products (PCPs), infants and toddlers are likely becoming exposed to potentially harmful substances, called parabens, at an even higher level than adult women in the U.S., researchers have reported. They published their findings on parabens, which ...

Nanotube-based sensors can be implanted under the skin for a year

05-Nov-2013 - Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most important signaling molecules in living cells, carrying messages within the brain and coordinating immune system functions. In many cancerous cells, levels are perturbed, but very little is known about how NO behaves in both healthy and cancerous ...

Canbex Therapeutics Secures TSB Biocatalyst Grant

10-Sep-2013 - Canbex Therapeutics Ltd announced that it has secured a grant of £1.25M to further support the development of VSN16R. Alongside our recent financing round the grant secures the early development of this novel treatment for spasticity in multiple sclerosis.“The goal of the Canbex programme is to ...

Europe’s environment now healthier – but new risks emerging

03-Jun-2013 - Europeans live longer and healthier lives than in the past, partly due to successful environmental policies that have reduced the exposure to harmful environmental contaminants in air, water and food, according to a new report. However, these contaminants are still a problem, and several new ...