Category Environment/Geology

After conducting a new research approach using actual commutes, a group of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a simple shift in driving habits can help to reduce those risks while out on the road. Credit: Washington University in St. Louis

Engineers show how to best reduce pollution exposure during commutes. Commute can also be hazardous to your health, exposing drivers to an increased amount of air pollutants that have been linked to a whole host of medical maladies, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory issues and even lung cancer. After conducting a new research approach using actual commutes, a group of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis discovered a simple shift in driving habits can help to reduce those risks while out on the road.

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The Apollo 15 moon rock sample, which was analyzed by MIT and Rutgers University researchers, consists of basalt fragments welded together by a dark glassy matrix that was produced by melting from a meteorite impact. The black scale cube is 1 centimeter across. Credit: NASA

Findings suggest 2 mechanisms may have powered the moon’s ancient churning, molten core. New evidence from ancient lunar rocks suggests that an active dynamo once churned within the molten metallic core of the moon, generating a magnetic field that lasted at least 1 billion years longer than previously thought. Dynamos are natural generators of magnetic fields around terrestrial bodies, and are powered by the churning of conducting fluids within many stars and planets...

A sequential and mild approach toward the synthesis of poly(limonene)dicarbonate (PLDC) has been developed using readily available limonene oxide (LO) and CO2 as renewable reagents and an air-stable Al(III) complex as catalyst for the alkene-rich poly(limonene)carbonate (PLC).

From your phone case to airplane windows, polycarbonates are everywhere. Several million tons of polycarbonate are produced every year around the world. However, worries about the dangers of this material are increasing because of the toxicity of its precursors, especially bisphenol-A, a potential potential endocrine-disruptor, neurotoxic, and carcinogen...

“Air Pollution and Mortality in the Entire Medicare Population,” Qian Di, Yan Wang, Antonella Zanobetti, Yun Wang, Petros Koutrakis, Christine Choirat, Francesca Dominici, Joel D. Schwartz, New England Journal of Medicine, June 29, 2017, doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa1702747k

Study of US seniors Strengthens link between Air Pollution and Premature Death

A new study of 60 million Americans – about 97% of people age 65 and older in the US – shows that long-term exposure to airborne fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and ozone increases the risk of premature death, even when that exposure is at levels below the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) currently established by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Harvard T.H...