Vehicular emissions cause 342 premature deaths each year in greater Boston
Peer-Reviewed Publication
Updates every hour. Last Updated: 4-May-2025 16:09 ET (4-May-2025 20:09 GMT/UTC)
A new study in the journal Science of the Total Environment found that emissions from onroad vehicles cause 342 premature deaths annually in Greater Boston. Nearly 90 percent of these deaths are linked to elevated levels of nitrogen dioxide in the region. The majority of these health damages were linked to emissions from light-duty trucks, such as SUVs, pickup trucks, vans, and minivans. SUVs have ranked in recent years the most popular car among residents in the Bay State.
A new USC-led study provides the first nationwide picture of who knows about, carries, and uses naloxone to reverse deadly opioid overdoses. Mireille Jacobson, professor of gerontology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and a senior fellow at the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy & Economics, said the study was conducted to address the lack of comprehensive data on access to the lifesaving medication and eventually to support work on how it affects the number of deaths attributed to opioid overdoses in the U.S.
Goethe University Frankfurt is expanding its digital presence and has now launched an account on the social media platform Bluesky. After leaving X (formerly Twitter) together with more than 60 other universities in January, the university is focusing on a transparent, science-friendly and decentralized alternative.
The scientific community has long believed that polymers—very large molecules—are too big to migrate out of products into people and therefore pose no health risks. As a result, polymers have largely evaded regulation. For example, polymers are exempt from the major toxics acts: Toxic Substances Control Act in the U.S. and REACH in the E.U. However, a breakthrough peer-reviewed study published today in Nature Sustainability demonstrates that polymers used as flame retardants can break down into smaller harmful chemicals.