Environmental medicine

Harmful substances in the soil, water and air also endanger people's health. In recent years, environmental medicine has been increasingly concerned with the consequences of climate change – in particular, rising temperatures and water shortage are causing many new medical problems.

News • Drug adsorption

Nanoplastics can impair the effect of antibiotics, study finds

Nanoplastics are not only bad for the environment: A new study has shown that minuscule particles of plastic which enter the body also can impair the effect of antibiotic treatment.

News • Hidden habitat for Listeria, E. coli and more

Microplastics help pathogens survive wastewater treatment

Wastewater treatment fails to kill several human pathogens, such as Listeria or E. coli, when they hide out on microplastics in the water, according to a new study.

News • Impact on cardiovascular disease

How pollution of soil and water threatens heart health

“Evidence is mounting that pollutants in soil as well as in water may damage cardiovascular health,” find the authors of a new publication, which advocates the need for more sustainability.

News • Public health research

Climate change brings new diseases to Europe – using AI to prepare

Due to climate change, diseases such as West Nile fever reach European countries. With the help of AI and math, institutions can prepare for new infections in the changing climate, new research shows.

News • Study analyses admissions in Spain

Summer heat sends more people into hospital, study finds

Metabolic disorders, renal failure, UTIs, sepsis, poisoning: The higher temperatures climb in summer, the more people are hospitalized, a study shows - with some groups being more at risk than others.

News • Radiofrequency electromagnetic radiation

Do long calls on mobile phones increase brain cancer risk? Study says no

Holding a mobile phone close to the head for an extended amount of time has long been connected to brain cancer. Now, a new study found no hints for an increased risk.

News • Research project 'ADAPT-HEAT'

Climate medicine: How does extreme heat affect medication?

Heat waves are becoming more common due to climate change. Researchers in Cologne explore what this might mean for the effectiveness of medication.

News • Study shows significant adverse effects

Global warming: The health cost of urban heat

Heat islands found in many European cities have a clear impact on human mortality risk, comparable to air pollution. A new study has produced the first cost estimate of this impact.

News • Environmental and human health research

PHIC: A French-Japanese cooperation for planetary health

A remarkable collaboration for planetary health: The Institut Pasteur and the University of Tokyo want to establish a joint institution dedicated to addressing human and environmental health research.

News • Environmental impact

Loss of biodiversity could benefit viral pathogens

Environmental changes may reduce the diversity of mosquitos, but bring about a greater abundance of viruses, scientists from Charité in Berlin in cooperation with Leibniz-IZW find.

News • Extra risk for asthma, COPD patients

Climate change: an even greater hazard for people with lung conditions

Heatwaves, wildfires, flooding: effects of climate change will further exacerbate breathing difficulties for millions of people living with lung conditions, new research finds.

News • PFAS as risk factor

Researchers explore link between ‘forever chemicals’ and breast cancer

Can per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) increase the risk of breast cancer? A new study by US researchers examines the effects of the so-called “forever chemicals”.

News • Planetary health

Global analysis links antibiotic resistance increase to rising air pollution

Curbing levels of harmful air pollution could help reduce antibiotic resistance, according to the first in-depth global analysis of possible links between the two.

News • Adverse outdoor conditions

Heat waves and PM2.5 air pollution double risk of fatal heart attack

Heat waves, cold snaps and high levels of fine particulate pollution could raise heart attack risk, according to a new study, which highlights one especially dangerous combination.

Article • Flow cytometry

Detecting and measuring nanoplastics in the blood stream

Plastics are a part of everyday life, and an increasingly concerning factor of global environmental pollution. They also have infiltrated our bodies as microparticles (MPs) and nanoparticles (NPs), found even in placentas supporting foetal life. And they are in our blood. Now, researchers in Spain have developed a new method to detect and measure nanoparticles in human peripheral blood that is…

News • Experimental biology

Global warming: how hot is too hot for human health?

Ongoing research at the University of Roehampton, UK has identified the upper critical temperature (UCT) for humans - and why our bodies cannot handle more heat.

News • Global warming effects

UK hospitals report surgery cancellations due to 2022 heatwave

The 2022 summer heatwave resulted in a fifth of UK hospitals being forced to cancel operations during the three days when temperatures soared, a new study reveals.

News • Health impact of PFAS

Study: “forever chemicals” disrupt key biological processes

Exposure to a mixture of chemicals called PFAS - also known as 'forever chemicals' - leads to alterations in biological processes associated with a broad range of diseases, a new study finds.

News • Non-communicable diseases management

Can the metaverse improve public health?

A new interdisciplinary article suggests ways in which the virtual-reality-based metaverse can help design healthy living environments and combat non-communicable diseases.

News • SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater

Using sewage to forecast Covid-19 infections

A new mathematical model developed by Hokkaido University engineers uses wastewater samples to effectively forecast the number of clinical Covid-19 cases in a community five days in advance.

News • Environmental pollution

Microplastics found in operating theatres

High levels of microplastics were detected in surgical environments in a new study. Microplastic was found in both the operating theatre and anaesthetic room, in cardiothoracic surgeries.

News • Stress reaction in the body

Exploring heat and cold as cardiovascular hazards

Both hot and cold environments trigger a stress response and can lead to cardiovascular problems. Results of a new study are especially interesting in light of the current multiple global crises.

News • Environmental medicine

Study shows how air pollution eats away at the immune system

The diminished power of the immune system in older adults is usually blamed on the aging process. But a new study shows that decades of particulate air pollution also take a toll.

News • Environmental change effects

The impact of climate change and air pollution on neurologic diseases

Are climate change and air pollution making neurologic diseases like headaches, dementia and multiple sclerosis (MS) worse? A scoping review of research explores the connection.

News • Greenhouse gas emissions

How climate change impacts human pathogenic diseases

A comprehensive assessment of scientific literature has uncovered empirical evidence that more than 58% of human diseases caused by pathogens, such as dengue, hepatitis, pneumonia, malaria, Zika, have been aggravated by climatic hazards.

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