NIEHS Superfund Research Program - Research Brief Podcasts

Lake properties impact the amount of arsenic that transfers from sediments into the aquatic food web, according to a new SRP study. Researchers discovered high concentrations of arsenic in the water and plankton of well-mixed shallow lakes.

New research out of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center explains how liver cells with DNA damage manage to survive and divide, fueling liver cancer. The study highlights the importance of a family of molecules called CD44 proteins, which are located on the surface of cells.

Scientists have identified key compounds produced when the body metabolizes omega fatty acids that can reduce the severity of age-related macular degeneration (AMD) in mice. By increasing these lipid metabolites and preventing them from degrading, the researchers reduced abnormal blood vessel growth, in part by regulating the movement of inflammatory immune cells into the retina.

Particles in dust from abandoned uranium mines may be damaging to the lungs and heart, according to new research from the University of New Mexico Superfund Research Program (UNM SRP) Center. The researchers showed that exposure to particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter (PM10) from an old uranium mine, compared to PM10 from an area not impacted by a mine, led to increased pulmonary and cardiac toxicity in mice, as well as higher levels of inflammation and oxidative stress in cells.

New research demonstrates the important function of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) in normal organ development, reproduction, fertility, and behavior. The results of the study, out of the Oregon State University Superfund Research Program Center (OSU SRP Center), may help researchers understand the target organs and molecular mechanisms involved in toxicity to environmental contaminants that require AHR, a protein required for organisms to develop properly.

Common water treatment methods that remove phenols and other hazardous compounds may produce low levels of toxic byproducts, according to a new study by the University of California (UC), Berkeley Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center.

The Superfund Research Program (SRP) Occupational and Safety Training Education Programs on Emerging Technologies (R25) grants are awarded to institutes of higher education to support activities that complement or enhance workforce training that meets the nation’s biomedical, behavioral, and clinical research needs. This includes the development of educational activities, curricula, tools, and methods for industrial hygienists and graduate students involved in the research, evaluation, management, and handling of hazardous substances.

Researchers at the University of California San Diego (UCSD) showed that chronic liver inflammation can promote cancer by suppressing one of the body’s natural mechanisms to fight cancer development. The study, funded in part by the Superfund Research Program (SRP), explains the success of some types of cancer immunotherapy and suggests novel targets for new therapies.

Collecting saliva may be a practical alternative to blood for characterizing a person’s exposures, according to new research from the Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center at the University of California (UC), Berkeley. The researchers found that saliva contains a rich set of molecular information that can be used to construct individual exposure histories and discover risk factors for chronic diseases.

Researchers at the University of Tennessee have discovered a crucial compound that helps specific bacteria degrade pollutants like tetrachloroethene (PCE). This compound, called purinyl-cobamide, assists enzymes during degradation reactions.

Breakthroughs from the Michigan State University Superfund Research Program (MSU SRP) Center provide new evidence that activated carbon may be used to reduce health risks resulting from dioxin contamination.

Poplar trees can capture and remove trichloroethylene (TCE) from the soil and degrade it. Now, a method using endophytes, symbiotic microbes that live within a plant, has been successfully shown to boost the speed and effectiveness of this natural degradation process. Researchers led by Edenspace Systems Corporation, a Superfund Research Program (SRP)-funded small business, conducted the first large-scale experiment on a Superfund site using poplar trees fortified with a microbial endophyte to clean up TCE-contaminated groundwater.

New research shows that deletions or duplications of long stretches of DNA, also known as copy number variations (CNVs), that occur in several gene locations are associated with a higher risk of developing arsenic-induced skin lesions. Skin lesions are a hallmark of arsenic toxicity that appear relatively early with chronic arsenic exposure. This newly discovered link may help to explain why some people exposed to arsenic develop skin lesions and get sick while others exposed to the same levels do not.

Researchers at the Boston University Superfund Research Program (BU SRP) Center reported that tributyltin (TBT) may promote aging-related problems in immune health. The team, led by Jennifer Schlezinger, Ph.D., found that TBT impacts bone marrow B cells directly by triggering cell death and indirectly by changing the microenvironment of bone marrow vital for supporting immune health.

Researchers at the Brown University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center have developed a new 3D liver cell model that can be used to screen chemicals for toxicity in fish. The new model uses fish liver cells cultured to form 3D microtissue, so researchers can assess liver toxicants over time and after single and repeated exposures.

Prenatal exposure to both alcohol and tetrachloroethylene, also known as perchloroethylene or PCE, may increase the risk of using multiple illicit drugs as a teenager, according to a study by Boston University Superfund Research Program (BU SRP) Center researchers. PCE is a solvent frequently used in dry cleaning solutions, adhesives, metal degreasers, and other commercial products.

A newly developed panel of zebrafish genes can be combined with a rapid testing platform to identify chemicals that induce oxidative stress, according to researchers at the University of Washington (UW) Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center. The method, optimized for use on larval zebrafish by UW SRP Center researchers, is cost-effective and can be performed more quickly and with less tissue than conventional methods.

Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center have identified metabolites in umbilical cord blood that are associated with exposure to arsenic in the womb. The findings also show that differences in a mother’s metabolism of arsenic may influence the metabolite profile of her baby. Assessing changes in the newborn’s metabolite profile by looking at the full range of metabolites, or metabolome, may provide insight into how prenatal arsenic exposure could affect important pathways responsible for maintaining normal cell processes in the body.

Exposure to a mixture of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) may produce different neurodevelopmental effects from those of exposure to individual PAHs, and the developing brain may be sensitive to these contaminants over a wide window of development, according to a Duke University Superfund Research Program (SRP) Center study.

A second-stage treatment using low levels of surfactants, which are commonly used as dispersing agents, may be a promising method to maximize removal of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at hazardous waste sites, according to findings from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Superfund Research Program (UNC SRP) Center. Researchers identified specific surfactants that enhanced the removal of PAHs from previously treated soil by making the chemicals more accessible for degradation by bacteria.