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Air Pollution Linked to Lung Cancer-Driving DNA Mutations, Study Finds
Air pollution has been linked to a swathe of lung cancer-driving DNA mutations, in a study of people diagnosed with the disease despite never having smoked tobacco.
The findings from an investigation into cancer patients around the world helps explain why never-smokers make up a rising proportion of people developing the cancer, a trend the researchers called an “urgent and growing global problem.”
Prof Ludmil Alexandrov, a senior author on the study at the University of California in San Diego, said researchers had observed the “problematic trend” but had not understood the cause. “Our research shows that air pollution is strongly associated with the same types of DNA mutations we typically associate with smoking,” he said.
The scientists analysed the entire genetic code of lung tumours removed from 871 never-smokers in Europe, North America, Africa and Asia as part of the Sherlock-Lung study. They found that the higher the levels of air pollution in a region, the more cancer-driving and cancer-promoting mutations were present in residents’ tumours.
Cambridge Scientists Find Gut Bacteria Can Remove Toxic PFAS From the Body
Open Access Government reported:
New research from the University of Cambridge has revealed that particular species of microbe found in the human gut can absorb perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as “forever chemicals.”
PFAS do not break down easily in the environment or our bodies, meaning they accumulate over time and cause health problems, such as decreased fertility, developmental delays in children, and a higher risk of certain cancers and cardiovascular diseases. The results are published in the journal Nature Microbiology.
Scientists have identified a family of bacterial species, naturally found in the human gut, that absorb various PFAS molecules from their surroundings.
When nine of these bacterial species were introduced into the guts of mice to ‘humanise’ the mouse microbiome, the bacteria rapidly accumulated PFAS ingested by the mice, which were then excreted in their feces.
Scientists Discovered Microplastics in Human Semen and Follicular Fluid
Scientists have detected microplastics — the tiny and pervasive fragments now found in our seas, drinking water, food and, increasingly, living tissue — in human semen and follicular fluid, according to new research.
A small group of 25 women and 18 men participated in the research, published Tuesday in the journal Human Reproduction. Microplastics were detected in 69% of the follicular fluid samples and 55% of the seminal fluid samples. Follicular fluid is the liquid that surrounds an egg in an ovarian follicle.
The research is an abstract — a short summary of completed research — and has not yet been peer reviewed. It was presented Tuesday in Paris at the 41st Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology.
“Previous studies had already suggested this possibility, so the presence of microplastics in the human reproductive system is not entirely unexpected,” said lead research author Dr. Emilio Gómez-Sánchez, director of the assisted reproduction laboratory at Next Fertility Murcia in Spain, in a statement provided to the press. “What did surprise us, however, is how widespread it is. This is not an isolated finding — it appears to be quite common.”
U.S. Supreme Court Declines to Hear Exxon’s Appeal Over $14.25 Million Penalty for Baytown Air Pollution
Houston Public Media reported:
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up ExxonMobil‘s appeal regarding a multimillion-dollar penalty against the oil and gas giant for thousands of environmental violations at its Baytown petrochemical plant.
The Supreme Court’s denial means a December ruling from the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will remain in place. The appeals court upheld a $14.25 million penalty against Exxon for more than 16,000 Clean Air Act violations at its Baytown refinery east of Houston, which released more than 10 million pounds of pollution during an eight-year period.
The case had been pending since 2010, when Environment Texas and the Sierra Club sued Exxon in a federal court in Houston on behalf of impacted residents. The $14.25 million penalty, which Exxon must pay to the federal government, is the largest civil penalty issued in a citizen-initiated lawsuit to enforce the Clean Air Act, according to the plaintiffs.
“It’s a tremendous victory for ordinary citizens who live next to illegally polluting plants,” David Nicholas, an attorney for the plaintiffs, told Houston Public Media on Monday. “It’s been a hard-fought battle for 16 years, and the citizens stuck it out all the way, and justice has prevailed. Hopefully, this will spur compliance with Exxon’s permits and reduce pollution.”
Italy Chemical Plant Execs Jailed for Pollution
Eleven executives from companies including Japan’s Mitsubishi and Luxembourg-based International Chemical Investors were convicted for contaminating nearly 200 square kilometres (77 square miles) of drinking water as well as soil through the Miteni plant in the northeastern city of Trissino.
The court sentenced them to prison terms ranging from two years and eight months to 17 years, in the case of two executives at now-folded Italian firm Miteni.
Four other defendants were acquitted.
PFAS — or per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances — are a group of more than 10,000 human-made chemicals that repel heat, water, oil and stains. Developed in the 1940s, they are still used in nonstick pans and stain-proof carpets, yet are now linked to hormonal disruption, immune suppression and cancers.
