Blog 26: World's City With Worst Air Pollution

The city of Ahvaz in southwestern Iran has surpassed all other cities in the world and has the number one rank for worst air pollution. The PM 10 level in Ahvaz is about 372, more than triple that of Beijing, China, which is roughly 121. Annually, close to 80,000 people in Iran due to environmental pollution. This number amounts to 21% of Iran's overall annual deaths. Ahvaz is so dangerously polluted as a result of oil, steel, and iron industries in the area being poorly regulated and pumping tons of hazardous materials into the air. These emissions, mixed with massive sandstorms in the area, provide for a terrible combination and toxic conditions.

http://www.ibtimes.com/inside-worlds-most-polluted-city-ahvaz-iran-video-1115920

http://www.ncr-iran.org/en/news/society/13027-iranian-city-of-ahwaz-has-the-world-s-worst-air-pollution.html

Video-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-15109116

Blog 25: Carnitine in Red Meat Increases Heart Disease Risk

In a study conducted, men and women were asked to eat 8 oz. steaks, then had their blood drawn after as a way to further study how red meat contributes to heart disease. The results showed that a chemical called carnitine that is found in red meat is actually more dangerous than the meat's saturated fat and cholesterol. Carnitine by itself is not dangerous, but once ingested, it is metabolized by intestinal bacterial and turned into another chemical called TMAO, which then enters the bloodstream. TMAO allows cholesterol to get into artery walls, blocking them, and prevents the excretion of excess cholesterol. It is a major contributor to heart attacks and heart disease. In tests done, people who had high levels of carnitine or TMAO in their blood were found to be at higher risks for heart disease. In the test conducted, the subjects showed spikes of TMAO levels in their blood hours after eating the red meat. However, the researchers administered antibiotics to the subjects in order to wipe out the bacteria in their intestines, and TMAO no longer showed up in their blood after consuming red meat or any type of carnitine since they had almost no bacteria. Researchers are hoping to pinpoint which particular bacteria are the culprits of metabolizing carnitine into TMAO so that they can develop antibiotics to only wipe out that type as a new method of treating heart disease and lowering the risk for it.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/08/health/study-points-to-new-culprit-in-heart-disease.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Blog 24: Recyclable Solar Cells Created From Trees

Researchers have successfully been able to develop solar cells from natural substrates from trees by manufacturing the cell on cellulose nanocrystal material, which is derived from plants. Organic solar cells were usually created on either glass or plastic, both of which are recyclable, but not nearly as much as this new invention made from raw materials. Other cells built on petroleum-based substrates are not good for the environment and hard to dispose of at the end of their life. These new cells, however, created on the cellulose material are very easily recycled, green, renewable, and durable. At the end of its lifecycle, the solar cell can be placed in water, and after only a few minutes, the substrate dissolves and the rest of the cell can be separated. This has been a major development in the solar technology industry, and now the next step is to hopefully increase the power conversion efficiency of the cells from 2.7% to about 10%.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130326111958.htm

Blog 23: Health Impacts of the Fukushima Nuclear Disaster

The March 2011 meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear power plant was the worst since Chernobyl in 1986. Despite the severity of the meltdown, Japan quickly handled evacuations in a 20 kilometer radius of the plant, possibly decreasing the cancer risk to some extent. However, about 600 deaths resulted from the evacuation process itself. Experts have estimated that radiation from the disaster will result in approximately 130 deaths, along with 180 cases of cancer. The United Nations Science Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation predicted that there would be no serious resulting health consequences for the public, mostly because the majority of radioactive material was deposited in the ocean; only 19% of the material settled on land, but it still created a "dead zone" of several hundred kilometers.

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2012/july/fukushima-health-impacts-071712.html