A University of Alberta engineering researcher has developed a new way to treat common surgical masks so they are capable of trapping and killing airborne viruses. His research findings appear in the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature Publishing Group. Hyo-Jick Choi, a professor in the University of Alberta Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering, noticed […]
Identification of a protective protein that reduces the severity of COVID-19
Researchers at the Lady Davis Institute (LDI) at the Jewish General Hospital have discovered that increased levels of the protein OAS1 are associated with reduced mortality and less severe disease requiring ventilation among patients with COVID-19. Using drugs that boost OAS1 levels could be explored to try to improve these outcomes. The findings are published […]
Don’t Let the Gene Out of the Bottle, Sounding the alarm on genetically engineered microbes
In just 16 minutes, Don’t Let the Gene Out of the Bottle sounds the alarm on the planet-critical threat of gene-edited microbes and how we can come together, make our voices heard, and demand proper regulation and containment of this nature-bending technology. Don’t Let the Gene Out of the Bottle powerfully conveys the threat to the human and […]
Genetic effects of Chernobyl radiation
In two landmark studies, researchers have used cutting-edge genomic tools to investigate the potential health effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, a known carcinogen, from the 1986 accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in northern Ukraine. One study found no evidence that radiation exposure to parents resulted in new genetic changes being passed from […]
A radioactive isotope is showing up in honey
That natural, bee-produced sweetener you stir into your tea and lavish on your toast may be laced with cesium-137. It’s a radioactive isotope, Jim Kaste explains, a relic of the atom bomb tests of the Cold War. And there is a good chance that your delectable honey contains detectable amounts of the stuff. Kaste hastens […]
Radiation causes blindness in wild animals in Chernobyl
Vast amounts of radioactive particles spread over large areas in Europe. These particles, mostly Cesium-137, cause a low but long-term exposure to ionizing radiation in animals and plants. This chronic exposure has been shown to decrease the abundances of many animal species both after the Chernobyl and later Fukushima nuclear accidents. Damage caused by acute […]
A pigment from red cabbage could help turn your favorite foods blue
It’s not that hard to make a natural blue dye. Just take a red cabbage, cut it into pieces, and boil it. What you get is a purple broth that turns bright blue when you add some baking powder. Children have been doing this for decades, but researchers have struggled to turn this or similar […]
Keto diet found to ease alcohol withdrawal symptoms
A team of researchers affiliated with multiple institutions in the U.S. and one in Denmark has found that people suffering from alcohol withdrawal experience less severe symptoms if they go on the ketogenic (keto) diet. In their paper published in the journal Science Advances, the group describes experiments they conducted with rats and human volunteers involving […]
DDT exposure in grandmothers linked to obesity, earlier periods in granddaughters
In the first study to report on the health effects of exposure to a toxic environmental chemical over three human generations, a new study has found that granddaughters whose grandmothers were exposed to the pesticide DDT have higher rates of obesity and earlier first menstrual periods. This may increase the granddaughters’ risk for breast cancer […]
Study: Air pollution from fracking linked to deaths in Pennsylvania
Approximately 20 people in Pennsylvania lost their lives during a seven-year period because of particulate matter pollution emitted by shale gas wells, according to a recent study including faculty at Binghamton University, State University of New York. The researchers —including lead author Ruohao Zhang, a Binghamton University graduate student who specializes in environmental economics, and Professor of […]