Air pollution kills 380,000 people each year in the world

October 10th, 2009 LONDON - Scientists have uncovered the structure of an unusual enzyme which can be used to reverse the contamination of land caused by RDX explosive. The discovery, by scientists from the York University Structural Biology Lab and the Centre for Novel Agricultural Products, will support the development of plants that can help tackle pollution from RDX.

October 8th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new mobile air research laboratory will help a team of researchers led by a Michigan State University professor better understand the damaging health effects of air pollution and why certain airborne particles - emitted from plants and vehicles - induce disease and illness. Jack Harkema, a University Distinguished Professor of pathobiology and diagnostic investigation in the College of Veterinary Medicine, will deploy the new 53-foot, 36,000-pound center - dubbed "AirCARE 2" - throughout southern Michigan, including metropolitan Detroit.

October 7th, 2009 TORONTO - Air pollution may also trigger appendicitis in adults, warns a new study. The study, conducted by researchers at the Universities of Calgary, Toronto and Health Canada, looked at 5,191 adults hospitalised in Calgary.

September 16th, 2009 EPA limits pollution from medical incineratorsWASHINGTON — About 50 medical waste incinerators nationwide will have to reduce their air pollution under new regulations announced Wednesday by the Environmental Protection Agency. The EPA said that the new rules, which require better monitoring and tighten emissions limits, will reduce toxic pollution from the burning of medical waste by 390,000 pounds annually and likely result in no new incinerators being built.

August 13th, 2009 Police: Mob kills famous geologist in KenyaNAIROBI, Kenya — Assailants armed with arrows, spears and machetes killed a Scottish-born geologist in an apparent dispute over mining rights in southeastern Kenya, police said Thursday. Campbell Bridges, 72, was attacked by about a dozen people Tuesday after stopping to remove a log on the road as he drove to a camp in a mining area near Tsavo West National Park, said local Deputy Police Chief John Leshindoro.

August 5th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A gunman opened fire in a fitness centre outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, killing at least four people and wounding 10. Police in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, said the gunman was believed to be among the dead in Tuesday evening's shooting, in addition to at least four victims, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported on its website.

July 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - A new study has come up with the strongest evidence yet that noise pollution negatively influences the nesting habits of birds. The study also indicates that at least a few species opt for noisy areas over quiet ones, perhaps because of their vocalisation pitches, a reduction in nest predators and less competition from other song birds that prefer quiet environments.

July 1st, 2009 EPA proposes regulations to cut ship pollutionWASHINGTON — The Environmental Protection Agency is proposing tougher rules to reduce air pollution from large oceangoing ships, including oil tankers and cargo vessels. The agency announced Wednesdays it is beginning work on a regulation that would cut harmful chemicals releases from smokestacks of ships within 200 miles of the U.S.

June 30th, 2009 LONDON - Pedestrians and cyclists in urban areas of the UK are being transformed into mobile pollution sensors, as part of a Government-backed scheme to monitor air quality. According to a report by Sky News, researchers, led by a team at Imperial College London, will trial three new types of sensors on people, vehicles and traffic islands to measure traffic emissions and noise pollution.

June 16th, 2009 Washington, June 16 (ANI): A scientist of Indian origin has designed a tool that takes into consideration all feasible solutions for decreasing non-point source pollution for the amount of money available. The scientist in question is Indrajeet Chaubey, an associate professor of agricultural and biological engineering, Purdue University.

May 20th, 2009 WASHINGTON - In a new research, scientists at the University of Lancaster, UK, have determined that urban trees use their leaves to measure microscopic particles of pollution. According to a report in ABC science, they are so precise in this task that Professor Barbara Maher and a group of scientists at the University of Lancaster are turning to them as reliable, street-level pollution monitors.

April 24th, 2009 WASHINGTON - 'The Kills' star Alison Mosshart has had to cut short a gig in Colorado after she was taken ill with altitude sickness. Mosshart, 30, who was working on her side project 'The Dead Weather' with rocker Jack White, had to scrap a gig at the Fox Theatre in Boulder, Colorado on April 22 halfway through after she was left short of breath, reports Contactmusic.

March 21st, 2009 WASHINGTON - A worldwide online star-counting program, which is part of the International Year of Astronomy, has begun, calling on public in 110 partner countries to participate, in order to measure the light pollution.ccording to a report in National Geographic News, the two-week online campaign, known as 'Globe at Night', would run from March 16 to March 28. As part of the campaign, participating public would be expected to go outside at night and count the stars visible in and around the bright constellation Orion.

March 17th, 2009 WASHINGTON - The world's wealthiest nations should be responsible for China's pollution coming from exports, Chinese officials said amid talks with the US on how to combat global warming. China, the world's largest polluter together with the US, has a plan in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions blamed for global warming even as its economy grows rapidly, said Li Gao, director of China's department of climate change.

February 27th, 2009 WASHINGTON - Commercial ships account for almost half as much particulate pollution as the total amount released by cars, according to a new study. The study estimate that worldwide, ships emit about a million kilos of particulate pollution each year.