Nov 23, 2016 08:13 PM
Tuna's declining mercury contamination linked to U.S. shift away from coal
https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic...from-coal/
EXCERPT: Levels of highly toxic mercury contamination in Atlantic bluefin tuna are rapidly declining, according to a new study. [...] Tuna consumption continues to be the source of about 40 percent of the mercury contamination in the American diet. And mercury exposure from all sources remains an important issue, because it causes cognitive impairment in an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 babies born in this country each year. The new study [...] links the decline directly to reduced mercury emissions in North America. Most of that reduction has occurred because of the marketplace shift by power plants and industry away from coal, the major source of mercury emissions. Pollution control requirements imposed by the federal government have also cut mercury emissions. Progress on both counts could, however, reverse, with President-elect Donald Trump promising a comeback for the U.S. coal industry, in part by clearing away such regulations...
Implant predicts heart failure a month before it happens
http://www.futurity.org/sensors-heart-failure-1303522/
EXCERPT: [...] “It integrates a number of measurements of what’s going on with the patient, including breathing, activity, and heart sounds, and puts that all together to give us an index that we believe is both sensitive and specific for heart failure.” In this way, Boehmer says, the technology can help monitor the patient’s condition so heart failure events can be prevented before they happen....
https://www.scientificamerican.com/artic...from-coal/
EXCERPT: Levels of highly toxic mercury contamination in Atlantic bluefin tuna are rapidly declining, according to a new study. [...] Tuna consumption continues to be the source of about 40 percent of the mercury contamination in the American diet. And mercury exposure from all sources remains an important issue, because it causes cognitive impairment in an estimated 300,000 to 600,000 babies born in this country each year. The new study [...] links the decline directly to reduced mercury emissions in North America. Most of that reduction has occurred because of the marketplace shift by power plants and industry away from coal, the major source of mercury emissions. Pollution control requirements imposed by the federal government have also cut mercury emissions. Progress on both counts could, however, reverse, with President-elect Donald Trump promising a comeback for the U.S. coal industry, in part by clearing away such regulations...
Implant predicts heart failure a month before it happens
http://www.futurity.org/sensors-heart-failure-1303522/
EXCERPT: [...] “It integrates a number of measurements of what’s going on with the patient, including breathing, activity, and heart sounds, and puts that all together to give us an index that we believe is both sensitive and specific for heart failure.” In this way, Boehmer says, the technology can help monitor the patient’s condition so heart failure events can be prevented before they happen....