Risk assessment of phthalates and other chemicals needed

EPA should pursue cumulative risk assessment of phthalates and other chemicals – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should examine whether combined exposures to chemicals known as phthalates could cause adverse health effects in humans, says a new report from the National Research Council.

12 diseases worsened by climate change

‘Deadly dozen’ reports diseases worsened by climate change – Health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society. – Health experts from the Wildlife Conservation Society released a report that lists 12 pathogens that could spread into new regions as a result of climate change, with potential impacts to both human and wildlife health and global economies.

$62 million settlement with drug company Eli Lilly

Attorney General Martha Coakley and 32 Other Attorneys General Announce Record $62 Million Settlement with Drug Company – Eli Lilly and Company. – Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office, along with 32 other attorneys general, reached a record $62 million settlement with Eli Lilly and Company (Eli Lilly) resolving allegations of improper marketing of the atypical antipsychotic drug, Zyprexa.

Arsenic exposure could increase diabetes risk

In a study involving a representative sample of U.S. adults, higher levels of arsenic in the urine appear to be associated with increased prevalence of type 2 diabetes, according to a report in the August 20 issue of JAMA. – Inorganic arsenic, commonly found in ground water in certain areas, may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a study by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Less folate in diet cause abnormal sperm

Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm. – Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Improving the safety testing of chemicals

NIH Collaborates with EPA to Improve the Safety Testing of Chemicals; New Strategy Aims to Reduce Reliance on Animal Testing. – Testing the safety of chemicals ranging from pesticides to household cleaners will benefit from new technologies and a plan for collaboration, according to federal scientists from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), who announced a new toxicity testing agreement.

Babies excrete vaccine-mercury quicker

Infants? bodies expel the thimerosal mercury much faster than once thought ? thereby leaving little chance for a progressive building up of the toxic metal. – February’s issue of Pediatrics offers another reason to rethink blaming the spike in autism diagnoses on thimerosal, a mercury-containing preservative routinely used in several childhood vaccines until the late ?90s.

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