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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...
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...
Persistent pollutants measured in the blood of college students may be the remnants of past exposures instead of current exposures through food and dust, researchers conclude in a recently published study.
While different in structure and use, PCBs and DDT are types of long-lived pollutants that can persist in the environment, concentrate through food chains, and accumulate in fatty tissue of wildlife and people. They are slow to leave the body and are linked to some endocrine effects and cancers. 26 October 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...
People who eat wild game shot by hunters have significantly higher levels of lead circulating in their blood than those who do not, report researchers from the CDC.
The results agree with a handful of other studies that have found the lead from the bullets used to kill game such as deer and elk can leach into the meat and then into the people who eat it. 28 September 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...
Household dust is an important source of exposure to a lesser known – but ubiquitous and potentially toxic – flame retardant, reports a study from Belgium.
This study is the first to examine the relationship between dust, diet and serum concentrations of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs). Results are consistent with studies of other better known flame retardants, indicating that indoor sources may contribute most of human exposure to these chemicals. 8 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...
New experiments with combinations of contaminants shows that mixtures can cause harm even when the level of each chemical in the mixture would cause no effect by itself.
Because people are exposed to hundreds of chemicals at a time--or more--these results indicate that setting safety standards based on the action of individual chemicals will not be sufficient to protect human health. 1 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...
The more perfumes and body lotions that are used, the higher the levels of synthetic fragrances – called polycyclic musks – that are in the blood, reports a new study that examined college students from Austria.
This is one of only a few recent studies that have measured levels of polycyclic musks in human blood, even though they have widespread and increasing use in personal care products. 19 August 2009. More...
Sperm counts are lower in mice whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to a mixture of particles found in diesel exhaust.
The results add to a small but growing series of studies that suggest exposure to diesel exhaust can disrupt the proper development of the testis in rats and mice and perhaps affect reproduction. 14 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...
A study with rats suggests that radioactive uranium inhaled by soldiers on the battlefield and by workers in factories may bypass the brain's protective barrier by following nerves from the nose directly to the brain.
This study provides yet another example of how some substances can use the olfactory system to bypass the brain's protective blood barrier and go directly to the brain. Titanium nanoparticles and the metals manganese, nickel, and thallium use the same route. 31 July 2009. More...
Fish produced fewer – or no eggs at all – after only one to two weeks of exposure to either of two different types of synthetic progestin hormones found in women's birth control and menopausal drugs.
The more potent of the pair of progestins also lowered sperm production and affected behavior in male fish. Effects occurred at levels found in the environment in sewage effluents. 30 July 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 finds that young children have significantly lower levels of a key enzyme that protects against the toxic effects of certain pesticides. The youngsters' enzyme levels do not catch up to an adult's until after age seven – far longer than previously thought.
In addition, a person's genes dictate how effective the enzyme is at breaking down the pesticides. This is one reason why some people are more susceptible to the effects of pesticides than others. 21 July 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...
Scorpion venom can change the way rats grow and develop if they are exposed to the neurotoxins before birth.
Scorpion stings are a public health problem in Brazil. This is one of a few studies to date to examine if scorpion venom poses a unique threat to developing offspring. The study clearly shows that baby rats are developmentally altered in many ways if their moms are "stung" while pregnant. 15 July 2009. More...
Women in menopause are more prone to the BPA-associated health effects of inflammation and oxidative stress than either men or women who are still menstruating, according to a study of Korean adults.
This is the first time BPA has been linked to these conditions in people and suggests older women may be more susceptible to the chemical's estrogen-like manner that drives these particular types of cell damage. Oxidative stress can be involved with aging, cancer and other disease states. 13 July 2009. More...
In mice, short-term exposure to fine air particles reduces responsiveness of specialized neurons that regulate cardiac rhythm. Scientists believe that this reduced activity may be responsible for the cardiovascular disease associated with air pollution.
Fine particulate matter known as PM2.5 is a mixture of particles that are smaller than 2.5 micrometers (about one third of the diameter of a human hair). PM2.5 is a product of combustion and is released into the environment by forest fires and by gasses emitted by power plants, factories and automobiles. 7 July 2009. More...
A team of researchers report that some low concentrations of a commercial brominated flame retardant mix – which have no effect in laboratory rats – caused pregnancy failures when fed to female mink.
The low levels tested also skewed thyroid hormone levels in juvenile offspring that were exposed during development and weaning. The younger animals were more sensitive to the chemicals than the adult animals. 30 June 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...
Management measures that keep unwanted pests out of buildings and apartments can control cockroaches and their associated allergens better than traditional pesticide sprayings.
This is the first study to show how a one-time, low cost visit by professionals can effectively reduce the insects' populations for up to six months. Sealing cracks and using bait traps--rather than periodic pesticide applications--to control the pests lowers people's indoor exposures to unhealthy toxic chemicals and allergens that can lead to asthma. 22 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...
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