The Global Fool

our planet: environment, science & stories

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy and Guidelines
  • Earth Song by Michael Jackson
  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • Editorial Policy and Guidelines
  • Earth Song by Michael Jackson

Emaho Strategies — Science Communication Consulting

  • Air Pollution,  Featured,  Health,  Science,  Toxic Exposure,  Urbanization

    The unborn baby: Healthy pregnant mothers exposed to air pollution from road traffic inhale toxic particles that may end up in the placenta

    September 28, 2020 / 20 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio According to a recently published study, carbon and metal particles from road traffic, once inhaled, reach one of the many places where we would rather not find them—the unborn baby’s life support system, best known as placenta. Lead author Jonathan Grigg said: “Our study for the first time shows that inhaled carbon particulate matter in air pollution, travels in the blood stream, and is taken up by important cells in the placenta.” For the study, researchers analyzed placentas from 15 healthy non-smoking women, donated after the birth of their children. All women delivered healthy babies. However, they lived in an environment that exposed them to high levels…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    Doing Your Bit: Ten Simple Ways to Help Reduce Air Pollution

    August 11, 2013

    Nuisance Flooding: Climate Change and Increasing Sea Levels on U.S. Coasts

    July 29, 2014

    Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollutants: Links to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

    April 11, 2015
  • Air Pollution,  Featured,  Health,  Science,  Toxic Exposure

    Prenatal Exposure to Air Pollutants: Links to Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

    April 11, 2015 / 2 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio PHAs — short for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons — are bad actors: they’re toxic, ubiquitous pollutants that readily cross the placenta, causing damage to the fetal brain. Now, results from a new study show that PHA-induced fetal brain damage may lead to severe behavioral problems during early childhood, including aggression and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The deleterious effects of air pollution — greater risk of stroke, heart attacks and cognitive deterioration — are widely recognized. However, the new study assessed prenatal exposure and identified specific physical damage in the brain. The researchers used magnetic resonance imaging to measure the brains of 40 children from a cohort consisting…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    What Are Endocrine Disruptors?

    August 21, 2013

    What is Carbon Farming?

    August 8, 2013

    Childhood Asthma and Traffic-Related Air Pollution

    October 15, 2019
  • Featured,  Health,  Science

    Breastfeeding: Positive Influence on the Baby’s Intestinal Microbiota

    May 22, 2014 / 16 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio “Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development”, the World Health Organization tells us. Breastfeeding confers short-term and long-term benefits on both child and mother, and virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, as well as the support of their family, the health care system and society at large. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Babies are born ready to learn to breastfeed. During pregnancy a woman’s body gains weight and changes to support breastfeeding. Think of the first months of life as the “fourth trimester” where you and your baby get to know each other. Breastfeeding is part of…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    Global Threats: Climate Change is a Medical Emergency

    June 23, 2015

    What is regenerative leadership?

    September 14, 2020

    Turn Down the Heat: A New Report on the Effects of Climate Change

    June 20, 2013
  • Featured,  Global Threats,  Health,  Science,  Toxic Exposure

    Prenatal Exposure to Persistent Organic Pollutants: Influence on Masculine and Feminine Behavior in School-Age Children

    April 18, 2014 / 1 Comment

    By Roberta Attanasio Persistent environmental pollutants – such as DDT, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls – are a major global health threat. These toxic chemicals resist degradation and persist in the environment for long periods of time. They can be transported by wind and water across international boundaries, and reach regions far from where they are produced or used. People are exposed to these chemicals mostly by eating contaminated fish, meat, and dairy products and, once exposed, may develop a variety of adverse health effects, including birth defects, dysfunctions of the immune and reproductive systems, damage to the central and peripheral nervous systems, and certain cancers. Now, results from a study…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    To help the environment, turn your camera off during virtual meetings

    January 18, 2021

    Lead Poisoning Epidemics and Outbreaks: A Global Problem

    May 17, 2013

    Sustainability in Action: Family Farming

    November 28, 2013
  • Featured,  Health,  Science

    Breastfeeding: Benefits of Early Exposure to Maternal Antibodies

    February 13, 2014 / 16 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio “Breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family, the health care system and society at large. Colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, is recommended by World Health Organization as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth.” According to the American Academy of Pediatrics, “Babies are born ready to learn to breastfeed. During pregnancy a woman’s body gains weight and changes to support breastfeeding. Think of the first…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    A Not-So-New Role for Bisphenol A: Mammary Gland Carcinogen

    July 24, 2013

    The Blue Jean Distressed Look: Sandblasting Versus Eco-Aging

    April 27, 2013

    Ozone, Plants and Heat Waves: Team Players in Adverse Health Effects

    July 23, 2013
  • Featured,  Health

    Lifestyle Factors: Focus on Healthy Pregnancy

    November 30, 2013 / 2 Comments

    By Roberta Attanasio Too many times the medical field views pregnancy in terms of risks leading to potential problems for the mother, the baby, or both. Does it have to be so? Researchers from the UK, Ireland and New Zealand thought this may not be the case and shifted the focus of their research on pregnancy, from abnormality to normality. They carried out a study with the aim of highlighting factors that could be changed before pregnancy and, therefore, increase the likelihood of a normal outcome. Results from their study identified lifestyle factors either beneficial or detrimental for a normal pregnancy. Beneficial factors – factors that increased the likelihood of…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    Wasting Syndrome and Starfish Die-Off

    February 9, 2014

    The Foodprint: Eyes on Methane

    May 20, 2013

    The European Seafloor: More Litter Than We Thought

    May 1, 2014
  • Featured,  Global Threats,  Health,  Science,  Toxic Exposure

    Preterm Birth and Exposure to Environmental Pollutants

    November 25, 2013 / 1 Comment

    By Roberta Attanasio “Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer” – these are the words of Professor Joy Lawn, Director of the MARCH Centre at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and a Senior Health Advisor to Save the Children. Professor Lawn is one of the co-editors of a 2012 seminal report entitled “Born too soon: the global action report on preterm birth.” Globally, more than 15 million babies are born prematurely (before 37 completed weeks of gestation) each year, with over a million neonatal deaths from complications of preterm birth. To reduce the global staggering numbers of preterm births, it is necessary to find ways to help…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    Global Threats: The Spread of Crop Pests

    September 2, 2013

    From Old to Young: Rejuvenating Effects of Fasting on the Immune System

    June 7, 2014

    Clean Air: The Effects of U.S. Power Plant Carbon Standards on Human Health

    May 4, 2015
  • Featured,  Global Threats,  Health

    The Global Toll of Preterm Births

    November 24, 2013 / 1 Comment

    By Roberta Attanasio Too many babies are born too soon – not ready for life outside the womb – year after year. In May 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO), the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn & Child Health, Save the Children and the March of Dimes, published a report (Born too soon: the global action report on preterm birth) that included the first-ever estimates of preterm birth by country. At the time it was released, Dr. Joy Lawn, one of the report co-editors, said “Being born too soon is an unrecognized killer. Preterm births account for almost half of all newborn deaths worldwide and are now the second leading cause of death…

    Read More
    Roberta Attanasio

    You May Also Like

    The Information Age

    May 4, 2013

    Tuberculosis in China: A Success Story for a Global Problem

    March 22, 2014

    Skin Lightening Cosmetics and Mercury Toxicity

    November 10, 2013

Do you like The Global Fool? Like us on Facebook!

The Global Fool 2013 - 2021 ©