Air quality

Although the air in our homes or workplaces may seem OK, it might contain harmful compounds emitted by materials like particleboard and carpeting. New research suggests that we may soon be able to tell if that is the case, using tiny glowing worms.

By exposing healthy adults to diesel fumes before having their brain activity imaged in an fMRI machine, researchers have shown how traffic pollution can impair brain function, offering evidence of the connection between air quality and cognition.

It's assumed that as we get older our health will deteriorate. Our bodies age, wrinkles form, metabolism slows, and our immune system weakens. But how much of what we consider to simply be natural aging is actually due to preventable environmental factors?

Extraordinary research has presented a new hypothesis as to how cancer develops, inspired by a forgotten study from 75 years ago. The research showed how pre-existing mutations in healthy tissue can be prompted into tumorous proliferation by air pollution.

For the last few years, Kevin Ngo has spent his spare time developing a new kind of reusable face mask. The resulting Flo Mask is a radically different take on face masks: light, comfortable, and as protective as any disposable mask around.

Because many cyclists ride all over town, they encounter a wide range of air quality – more so than could be monitored by stationary sensors. The bar-mounted Air was designed with that in mind, as it measures the air quality while its user pedals.

New research has found a correlation between air quality in office environments and workers’ cognitive function. The study found low ventilation rates and increased levels of particulate matter were linked with reduced performance on cognitive tests.

Scientists have developed what they claim is the smallest particle sensor in the world, designed specifically to detect harmful pollutants and offer a highly localized picture of air quality by being integrated into wearables and mobile devices.

Scientists at the University of Utah have come up with a relatively low-tech solution for air quality monitoring, demonstrating how the buildup of magnetic particles on tree leaves can be used to gauge the quality of the surrounding air.

While electric vehicles usually cost more for the consumer at the point of purchase, a new study has applied a much broader scope to the economics of green transportation, and found it could actually save the US tens of billions of dollars each year.

A fuller picture is beginning to emerge of how the coronavirus shutdowns are clearing the air in major epicenters of the outbreak, with some measures of air pollution dropping by as much as 60 percent in parts of northern China.

A newly published longitudinal study out of Canada has found a strong association between frequent use of household cleaning products and an increased risk of children developing asthma in the first three years of life.