Exposure in Biological News

Bisphenol A exposure in pregnant mice permanently changes DNA of offspring

Exposure during pregnancy to the chemical bisphenol A, or BPA, found in many common plastic household items, is known to cause a fertility defect in the mother's offspring in animal studies, and now researchers have found how the defect occurs. The results of the new study will be presented Saturd...

Agent Orange exposure increases veterans' risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer

AUGUSTA, Ga. - Veterans exposed to Agent Orange are at increased risk of aggressive recurrence of prostate cancer, researchers report. A study of 1,495 veterans who underwent radical prostatectomy to remove their cancerous prostates showed that the 206 exposed to Agent Orange had nearly a 50 pe...

Lab study shows THC exposure as adolescents linked to negative effects of THC as adults

In earlier studies, researchers at Louisiana State University had found that estrogen or more precisely, having ovaries made adult rats exposed for the first time to THC, the primary ingredient in marijuana and hashish, less sensitive to THC's negative effects on tests of learning and memory. ...

Prenatal meth exposure linked to abnormal brain development

ST. PAUL, Minn. A first of its kind study examining the effects of methamphetamine use during pregnancy has found the drug appears to cause abnormal brain development in children. The research is published in the April 15, 2009, online issue of Neurology , the medical journal of the American Aca...

How increased UV exposure impacts plants

Madison, WI, March 6, 2009 -- As the first plant life to emerge from the water and develop on dry earth, bryophytes offer a unique opportunity for researchers to understand the development of protections against ultraviolet radiation. The three varieties of bryophites (liverworts, hornworts, and m...

Swimmers at public beaches show increased risk of exposure to contagious staph bacteria

Research, funded by multiple agencies and conducted by the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science and Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine, found that swimmers using public ocean beaches increase their risk for exposure to staph organisms, and may increase their ...

Benefits of breastfeeding outweigh risk of infant exposure to environmental chemicals in breastmilk

New Rochelle, NY, December 16, 2008A study comparing breastfed and formula fed infants across time showed that the known beneficial effects of breastfeeding are greater than the potential risks associated with infant exposure to chemicals such as dioxins that may be present in breastmilk, accordin...

Study reveals effects of unconscious exposure to advertisements

Troy, N.Y. Fads have been a staple of American pop culture for decades, from spandex in the 1980s to skinny jeans today. But while going from fad to flop may seem like the result of fickle consumers, a new study suggests that this is exactly what should be expected for a highly efficient, rationa...

Household exposure to toxic chemicals lurks unrecognized, researchers find

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] Although Americans are becoming increasingly aware of toxic chemical exposure from everyday household products like bisphenol A in some baby bottles and lead in some toys, women do not readily connect typical household products with personal chemical exposure a...

Major source of radon exposure overlooked at former Ohio uranium-processing plant

CINCINNATIUniversity of Cincinnati (UC) scientists say that a recent scientific study of a now-closed uranium processing plant near Cincinnati has identified a second, potentially more significant source of radon exposure for former workers. That sourcesix silos filled with uranium ore in the p...

Study: Bird diversity lessens human exposure to West Nile Virus

This one's for the birds. A study by biologists at Washington University in St. Louis shows that the more diverse a bird population is in an area, the less chance humans have of exposure to West Nile Virus (WNV). Now, let's hear it for the birds. "The bottom line is that where there are more...

Landmark studies assess risk of exposure to elevated levels of EMS confirm clear toxicity threshold

Basel, 4 August 2008. New data from studies presented at the XVII International AIDS Conference in Mexico City have provided unprecedented insight into the toxicity of an impurity called ethyl methanesulfonate (EMS). The formation of the EMS impurity is a potential by-product of the manufacturing...

Chronic exposure to estrogen impairs some cognitive functions

University of Illinois researchers report this week that chronic exposure to estradiol, the main estrogen in the body, diminishes some cognitive functions. Rats exposed to a steady dose of estradiol were impaired on tasks involving working memory and response inhibition, the researchers found. ...

OSU study shows exposure to bad air raises blood pressure

COLUMBUS, Ohio The air people breathe while walking in the park, working in the garden or shopping downtown may be unhealthy enough to seriously spike their blood pressure, a new study suggests. Cardiovascular researchers at The Ohio State University Medical Center are the first to report a di...

Early exposure to common weed killer impairs amphibian development

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. - Tadpoles develop deformed hearts and impaired kidneys and digestive systems when exposed to the widely used herbicide atrazine in their early stages of life, according to research by Tufts University biologists. The results present a more comprehensive picture of how...

Low exposure to asbestos-like mineral from Montana vermiculite may up lung disease risk

CINCINNATIWorkers exposed to low levels of an asbestos-like mineral from Montana more than two decades ago are at an increased risk for lung disease today, according to research from the University of Cincinnati (UC). Vermiculite is a mineral with a flaky, fluffy-looking structure. Previous s...

Moderate prenatal exposure to alcohol and stress in monkeys can cause touch sensitivity

A new study on monkeys has found that moderate exposure to alcohol and stress during pregnancy can lead to sensitivity to touch in the monkeys babies. In human children, sensitivity to touch is one of a number of characteristics of the approximately 5 percent of children who over-respond to senso...

MIT: Prenatal arsenic exposure detected in newborns

CAMBRIDGE, Mass MIT researchers have found that the children of mothers whose water supplies were contaminated with arsenic during their pregnancies harbored gene expression changes that may lead to cancer and other diseases later in life. In addition to establishing the potential harmful effects...

Researchers developing device to predict proper light exposure for human health

Troy, N.Y. Scientists have long known that the human body runs like clockwork, guided by a circadian system that responds to daily patterns of light and darkness. Now a team of researchers is developing a personal device to measure daily light intake and activity, which could allow them to predic...

Meth exposure in young adults leads to long-term behavioral consequences

WASHINGTON, DC August 13, 2007 Young adults who use methamphetamine may be more vulnerable to age-related brain degeneration when they grow older, new animal research suggests. The emergence of behavioral deficits in animals months after methamphetamine discontinuation may be relevant to human...

Novel technique changes lymph node biopsy, reduces radiation exposure

Information obtained from a new application of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is worth its weight in gold to breast cancer patients. For the first time, Lihong Wang, Ph.D., Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, with a joint appointment in Radiology...

Novel technique changes lymph node biopsy, reduces radiaiton exposure

Information obtained from a new application of photoacoustic tomography (PAT) is worth its weight in gold to breast cancer patients. For the first time, Lihong Wang, Ph.D., Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering, with a joint appointment in Radiology...

Birth control has long-term effect on hormone exposure

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. Researchers at Wake Forest University School of Medicine may be one step closer to understanding why past oral contraceptive use dramatically lowers the risk of ovarian and uterine cancers later in life. While studying the effect of post-menopausal dietary soy consumption ...

Expert urges FDA to take action to reduce BPA exposure

COLUMBIA, Mo. In the current issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association ( JAMA ), researchers report a significant relationship between urine concentrations of the environmental estrogen bisphenol A (BPA) and cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes and liver-enzyme abnormalities. ...

Time spent in car drives up air pollution exposure

Los Angeles, Oct. 30, 2007 The daily commute may be taking more of a toll than people realize. A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) and the California Air Resources Board found that up to half of Los Angeles residents total exposure to harmful air pollutants oc...

Pregnant mom's exposure to flu vaccine kick-starts fetal immune system

Some researchers have hypothesized that the fetus can be exposed to and mount an immune response against allergens to which the mother has been exposed, and this may have an effect on the development of allergic sensitivity (e.g. eczema and asthma) later in an infant’s life. However this hypothesi...

Sun exposure early in life linked to specific skin cancer gene mutation

Skin cancers often contain different gene mutations, but just how these mutations contribute to the cause of melanomas has been a mystery. A new clue comes from scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Schools of Medicine and Public Health. Their research indicates that earl...

Early exposure to indoor fungus molecules may protect infants against future allergies

Maybe being a fussy housekeeper isn’t such a good thing after all. Environmental health scientists at the University of Cincinnati (UC) say they have confirmed what other scientists have only suspected: early-life exposure to certain indoor fungal components (molecules) can help build stronger i...

Solvent exposure linked to birth defects in babies of male painters

Men who paint for a living may be placing their unborn children at increased risk of birth defects and low birth weight. A study of construction workers in the Netherlands, conducted in part by the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Canada, links low birth weight and birth defects to paternal, a...

Bird brains shrink from exposure to contaminants

The regions in robins' brains responsible for singing and mating are shrinking when exposed to high levels of DDT, says new University of Alberta research--the first proof that natural exposure to a contaminant damages the brain of a wild animal. "These residues have been persisting since the l...

Nicotine exposure during development leads to hearing problems

Scientists know that children of women who smoke during pregnancy can develop hearing-related cognitive deficits. For the first time, researchers believe they have evidence that not only implicates nicotine as the culprit, but also shows what the substance does to the brain to cause these deficits....

Prenatal nicotine exposure reduces breathing response of newborns...

A 37-year-old-mother, who gave birth to a low-weight preemie at 24 weeks, exhibited the first-found link in a human between bacteria found in the mouth and the amniotic fluid of a woman in preterm labor. Using new DNA finger-printing techniques to find bacteria that cannot be cultured and grown ...

Experimental vaccine protects nonhuman primates when given after exposure to Marburg virus

Using multi-disciplinary analysis that included cognitive, neurophysiologic, virologic, and molecular techniques, the team found both a low-level viral infection in the brain and immune cells that had infiltrated the brain in order to protect against the virus. "As in the rest of the body, in th...

Prenatal exposure to marine toxin causes lasting damage

Duke University Medical Center researchers have found that the naturally occurring marine toxin domoic acid can cause subtle but lasting cognitive damage in rats exposed to the chemical before birth. Humans can become poisoned by the potentially lethal, algal toxin after eating contaminated shellfi...

Prenatal exposure to famine increases risk of schizophrenia

People born during a famine in China have an increased risk of schizophrenia, consistent with previous research suggesting a link between fetal nutritional deficiency and schizophrenia, according to a study in the August 3 issue of JAMA, a theme issue on violence and human rights. Schizophrenia i...

Scalpel-free surgery could reduce risk of HIV and hepatitis exposure for health care workers

While the incidence of disease from HIV and hepatitis is increasing in the United States, little is known about their prevalence in patients undergoing surgery. Now, researchers have shown that nearly 40 percent of surgeries at The Johns Hopkins Hospital occur in patients who tested positive for a ...

Any exposure to tobacco smoke during pregnancy is risky

A re-examination of data from earlier studies suggests that exposure to second-hand smoke during pregnancy can be just as detrimental to a developing fetus as primary exposure through maternal smoking, according to a recent paper from the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health. ...

Breast-Cancer Risk Linked to Exposure to Traffic Emissions at Menarche, First Birth

Exposure to carcinogens in traffic emissions at particular lifetime points may increase the risk of developing breast cancer in women who are lifetime nonsmokers, a study by epidemiologists and geographers at the University at Buffalo has found. Their study was conducted among women who lived in...

New insights into health and environmental effects of carbon nanoparticles

...or use in a wide range of products, including cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and electronics. The study focused on determining how different kinds of exposure to nanoparticles affected larval and adult fruit flies. Scientists use fruit flies as stand-ins for humans and other animals in certain kinds of rese...

Lead-based consumer paint remains a global public health threat

...American consumer goods being produced overseas, Clark says that lead paint exposure remains a serious global health threat. "A global ban on lead-based pain...t present. Modern research has shown that children are affected at very low exposure levels and that there is no safe level of exposure." For the current st...