Toxicology

Environment

Natural acids in soil could protect rice from toxic nanoparticles

A common component of dirt makes toxic copper oxide nanoparticles less harmful to rice plants.

Environment

Controversial insecticide use rises as farmers douse seeds

Use of neonicotinoids, a class of controversial insecticides, has risen dramatically, posing threat to pollinating insects.

Environment

Fracking chemicals can alter mouse development

Hormone-disrupting chemicals used in fracking fluid cause developmental changes in mice, new experiments show.

Chemistry

Air pollution molecules make key immune protein go haywire

Reactive molecules in air pollution derail immune responses in the lung and can trigger life-long asthma.

Environment

Replacement for toxic chemical in plastics, receipts may be just as toxic

Mounting evidence suggests that BPS, a common chemical in plastics, may cause the same health effects as BPA.

Health & Medicine

E-cigarettes may be gateway to addiction for teens

Teenagers are using e-cigarettes more than any other tobacco product and for many, it’s the first time they’ve tried a tobacco product at all.

Health & Medicine

E-cigarettes lower immunity to flu and other germs

Electronic cigarettes produce substantial amounts of lung inflammation, a new mouse study finds. They may also reduce the ability to fight off infections from strep and flu germs.

Environment

Atrazine’s path to cancer possibly clarified

Scientists have identified a cellular button that the controversial herbicide atrazine presses to promote tumor development.

Health & Medicine

Year in review: Risks of e-cigarettes emerge

Electronic cigarettes dispense water vapor laced with flavors and often a hefty dose of nicotine. These vapors may be far from benign, studies in 2014 suggested.

Environment

Year in review: Microbes exploit their killer

Triclosan, an unregulated antimicrobial chemical found in consumer products, may aid, rather than deter, microbes that invade people’s bodies.

Environment

Spiders enlisted as pollution sensors for rivers

Hunting arachnids provide a better picture of chemical threats to food web.

Environment

Thirdhand smoke poses lingering danger

Harmful cigarette chemicals that linger on surfaces, known as thirdhand smoke, can go on to pollute the air and may harm people’s health.