environmental-health

Babies exposed to high amounts of air pollution in the womb show slower signs of development at 18 months than those exposed to lower levels.

Microplastics are turning up all over our bodies, from our lungs and brains to even the placenta during pregnancy. A new article in JAMA by scientists in the Mahalingaiah Lab and others at the Harvard Department of Environmental Health pulls together the latest research and makes a clear case that we need to take microplastics seriously, both as individuals and as a global community.

Nature Medicine, Published online: 21 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04349-y A study shows that extensively limiting plastic use in food systems, diet and daily life can reduce exposure to plastic-associated chemicals such as phthalates and bisphenols, indicating that large-scale regulatory actions are needed for true public health impact.

Nature Medicine, Published online: 21 April 2026; doi:10.1038/s41591-026-04342-5 An analysis of exposome traits in patients with early-onset colorectal cancer (CRC) (<50 years) compared with late-onset CRC (≥70 years) based on epigenetic markers shows that pesticide usage, in particular of picloram, is associated with early-onset CRC.

What to Know: The site combines dashboards and reports from both agencies on topics including infectious disease, environmental health, violence prevention, maternal and child health, and chronic disease. Officials say the hub is meant to make public health data easier for residents, researchers and local partners to access and use.

Researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC monitored 369 children for an average of two years in one of the first long-term studies of rural air pollution in Southern California. The post Children living near the Salton Sea show slower lung function growth appeared first on USC .

Many people in Europe may be exposed to dangerous chemicals as a result of slow leaks from gas cookers or ovens. Nearly 10 per cent of homes tested in the UK, Netherlands and Italy had leaks large enough to exceed exposure limits for the cancer-causing chemical benzene. “It’s akin to living with a smoker,” says Drew Michanowicz at the research institute PSE Healthy Energy in Oakland, California. …

The Supporting Undergraduate Research Experiences in Environmental Health (SURE-EH) program provides program provides research opportunities to UW undergrads, including those from groups underrepresented in the biomedical and behavioral sciences, with a meaningful opportunity to work with experienced faculty on a research project addressing the relationship between environmental exposures and hum…

| By Brenda Wilmoth Lerner, RN | Several years ago, for the previous edition of The Gale Encyclopedia of Environmental Health, I wrote the foreword from the privileged vantage point of a balcony overlooking a lush, tropical rainforest in South America. Although cognizant of health threats nearby in the otherwise magnificent jungle, including pristine-appearing streams ... Read more The post Gale …

Welcome to the EASE lab led by Dr. Jianyong Wu, an assistant professor at the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, the College of Public Health, the Ohio State University, Columbus, OH The primary goal of the EASE group is to examine the connections between environmental factors and human health outcomes using geographic information system (GIS), [&#8230;]

Dr. Bruce Blumberg received a 5-year multi-PI award totaling $3.2 million from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences together […]

Feline hyperthyroidism is the most common endocrine-related disease of older cats, and its prevalence has skyrocketed since the first case was diagnosed in 1979. At the same time, new household flame retardants were introduced, and recently, scientists have suspected a link. Now, researchers reporting in ACS’ Environmental Science & Technology have associated hyperthyroidism with another class of…

The research of Associate Professor Joshua Pearce (MSE/ECE) on solar water disinfection was featured in the August issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. Purifying Drinking Water with Sun, Salt, and Limes Sun, salt, and lime juice may sound like ingredients for a vacation margarita, but recent research suggests they can also be used to help purify . . .