Summarize this content to 1000 words In environmental health, "report back" refers to the process of reporting research findings back to the individuals and communities involved in a study. This practice is crucial for fostering transparency, building trust, and promoting actionable change. However, debate around how to ethically report back continues to evolve as the research community shifts to engage study participants as full and equal partners.On July 26, NIEHS,
Summarize this content to 1000 words The basic science of uterine fibroids — benign tumors that grow in the uterus and cause an array of health problems — drew researchers from as far away as Spain to a scientific symposium Feb. 28 at NIEHS. Topics ranged from molecular techniques for mapping uterine fibroid cells to the use of green tea extract as a potential treatment. “I was blown away by
Summarize this content to 1000 words Lipids play vital roles in the body, helping to store energy, produce hormones, and make cell membranes. Surprisingly, scientists are still trying to learn how the body maintains appropriate levels of lipids, such as cholesterol, according to Peter Tontonoz, M.D., Ph.D. He spoke Mar. 10 as part of the NIEHS Distinguished Lecture Seminar Series. Tontonoz credited many of the findings he presented to the
Summarize this content to 1000 words Looking to address concerns about the safety of botanicals, NIEHS joined forces with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the nonprofit Health and Environmental Sciences Institute (HESI) to form the Botanical Safety Consortium. The new consortium aims to address the lack of data on the safety of botanicals. The consortium, which launched a website in March, will serve as a collaborative forum
Summarize this content to 1000 words “It is truly an honor to be able to serve all of you and to work alongside each of you,” Collins told trainees. “You are the reason that I love working at NIEHS.” (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw) NIEHS scientific trainees were celebrated during Fellow Appreciation Week, held online for the first time Sept. 21-25. The institute’s career development events, networking sessions, and fun
Summarize this content to 1000 words Julian Schroeder, Ph.D., visited NIEHS Feb. 24 to speak about his institute-funded research into how plants respond to environmental stress from toxic metals. The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) professor’s talk was part of the Keystone Science Lecture Seminar Series. “Plants like to take up these metals, which is not a good thing if you’re eating them, but they also could provide
Summarize this content to 1000 words Fifty officials from the Bangladesh Ministry of Public Administration visited NIEHS Mar. 5 to learn how the institute advances environmental health research in the United States and abroad — including in their home country. The afternoon visit was part of a two-week public policy course offered by the Duke Center for International Development. The Bangladeshi officials wanted to learn more about NIEHS research and
Summarize this content to 1000 words “These groups pulled together data and layered it into accessible tools, increasing the potential for seeing the bigger picture,” said Heacock. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)Scientists funded by the NIEHS Superfund Research Program (SRP) developed online tools to inform local communities about potential environmental health risks. The researchers hail from the University of California at Berkeley (UCB) and Texas A&M University (TAMU).“SRP prioritizes getting
Summarize this content to 1000 words Borgnia said that the shape of a protein is closely related to its function, so discovering the shape with tools such as cryo-EM helps scientists gain insight to the job it performs. (Photo courtesy of Steve McCaw)The NIEHS cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM) facility, led by Mario Borgnia, Ph.D., is providing key support to the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI) in the fight against the SARS-Cov-2
Summarize this content to 1000 words ExtramuralBy Adeline Lopez Asthma declines with lower power plant emissions Asthma symptoms and asthma hospitalizations dropped dramatically in response to reduced power plant emissions, according to an NIEHS-funded study. The researchers took advantage of a natural experiment in Louisville, Kentucky, between 2013 and 2016. During that time, nearby power plants either stopped using coal as the energy source or installed better emission controls. This
