Marc Edwards, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Virginia Tech, was widely regarded as a hero for helping expose dangerously high lead levels in Flint, Michigan. But when Edwards began reporting that Flint’s lead levels were improving, activists and…
Could a $350 worm-powered toilet that doesn’t flush be the future of sanitation? The Tiger Toilet resembles a standard pit latrine. But it doesn’t stink, thanks to a built-in colony of tiger worms deployed to feast on feces. When the worms have done their work, a much…
Traditional Chinese medicine has been around for over 2,500 years—and now for the first time, its diagnoses will be included in the WHO’s International Classification of Diseases. The influential document guides global health statistics and insurance reimbursement decisions.
Kilis—a Turkish border city whose population doubled with the arrival of Syrian refugees—is giving away thousands of bicycles to children. Recipients must maintain good grades, pledge to cycle for at least 1 hour a day and convince a relative to quit smoking. The bikes are…
The flames may be extinguished, but for firefighters, the real damage could be exposure to harmful toxins released in a blaze. Amid a debate over the link between firefighting and cancer, more fire departments are following cancer prevention protocols, like keeping air…
Former EPA administrator Gina McCarthy has an unambiguous message on climate change and its impact: “Climate change is really the greatest public health threat of our time.” During a Bloomberg American Health Summit discussion on Nov. 30 with her former EPA colleague, Tom…
WASHINGTON – Today’s shocking CDC announcement that US life expectancy has declined for 3 years has added extra urgency to a summit of policymakers, experts, innovators and others gathered in the nation’s capital to discussion public health solutions.
Opioid overdoses claimed 42,000 lives in the US in 2016. Air pollution causes 200,000 Americans to die too soon each year. About 1 million violent crimes are committed in the US annually.
Perchloroethylene—the “dry” component in dry cleaning—is a classified carcinogen with toxic environmental effects. The US Occupational Safety and Health Administration declared it a neurotoxin connected with memory loss and blurred vision. Why, then, is it an industry…
The deadliest form of air pollution, microscopic particulate matter penetrates “deep into the lungs, bypassing the body’s natural defenses.” Its effects range from lung disease to cancer to cognitive impairment, yet the public knows relatively little about its toll on their…
