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What the Air You Breathe May Be Doing to Your Brain
For years, the two patients had come to the Penn Memory Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where doctors and researchers follow people with cognitive impairment as they age, as well as a group with normal cognition. Both patients, a man and a woman, had agreed to donate their brains after they died for further research. “An amazing gift,” said Dr. Edward Lee, the neuropathologist who directs the brain bank at the university’s Perelman School of Medicine. “They were both very dedicated to helping us understand Alzheimer’s disease.”
The man, who died at 83 with dementia, had lived in the Center City neighborhood of Philadelphia with hired caregivers. The autopsy showed large amounts of amyloid plaques and tau tangles, the proteins associated with Alzheimer’s disease, spreading through his brain. Researchers also found infarcts, small spots of damaged tissue, indicating that he had suffered several strokes.
By contrast, the woman, who was 84 when she died of brain cancer, “had barely any Alzheimer’s pathology,” Dr. Lee said. “We had tested her year after year, and she had no cognitive issues at all.” The man had lived a few blocks from Interstate 676, which slices through downtown Philadelphia. The woman had lived a few miles away in the suburb of Gladwyne, Pa., surrounded by woods and a country club.
Microplastics in Rainwater: What Impact Do They Have on the Body?
Independent Observer reported:
Microplastics are no longer confined to the ocean or food; they are now turning up in rainwater. Research conducted by the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) revealed that these tiny plastic particles have been carried by the wind and are falling with rainwater, specifically in the Jakarta area. Microplastics are defined as plastic fragments measuring less than five millimeters to one micrometer. Their extremely small size and difficulty in decomposition allow them to persist for a long time in the environment, moving from the air to the soil and into the water.
These particles are generally divided into two types: primary microplastics (particles that are initially small, such as microbeads found in cosmetics and cleaning products), and secondary microplastics (fragments resulting from the breakdown of larger plastics, like plastic bags, water bottles, or fishing nets).
BRIN’s findings suggest that microplastics have become an integral part of the environmental cycle. Plastic that disintegrates on land or at sea can be picked up by the wind, carried into the atmosphere, and then fall back down with rain.
‘Forever Chemicals’ Represent New Environmental Threat for Florida’s Fragile Everglades
A dozen different “forever chemicals” linked with cancer and other human health problems have been detected in the Everglades, Florida’s most important freshwater resource, responsible for the drinking water of millions in the state, according to new research.
It is the first time PFAS, or perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, have been measured on the Everglades reservation of the Miccosukee Tribe. For many generations the Indigenous people have inhabited the soaring cypress swamps and sweeping sawgrass prairies of the river of grass, a watershed encompassing much of the peninsula and which they regard as sacred.
PFAS are manufactured chemicals that have been used in consumer products since the 1940s. The chemicals can be found in items such as non-stick cookware, waterproof fabrics and long-lasting cosmetics, but they do not break down easily in the environment and can accumulate in the bodies of humans and other animals. The problem is a growing concern as climate change increases the rain dumped by hurricanes and other storms, contributing to more runoff that can wash the chemicals into waterways.
Kidney Cancer Rates Are Higher in Merrimack. Scientists Say More Research Is Warranted.
Kidney cancer rates are higher in the town of Merrimack compared to the rest of New Hampshire. And according to an investigation led by state officials and researchers from Dartmouth, more research is needed to determine the cause. The study released this week is the third that has been published as part of a long-term project about cancer in Merrimack. The investigation began after Merrimack residents expressed concerns about their exposure to PFAS — a group of man-made chemicals that contaminated that community’s water.
The newly released results, known as Phase 3, included more information than previous studies. Looking at 27 years of cancer data, researchers determined the rate of kidney cancer in Merrimack is 38% greater than it is in the rest of New Hampshire.
The study also found a slight increase in the rate of kidney cancer in Manchester compared to the rest of the state. However, the cause of higher rates of kidney cancer in those communities remains an open question for the group of scientists who worked on the project.
