Today, bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics and there is scientific evidence that the use and misuse of biocides such as disinfectants, antiseptics, or preservatives can contribute to antibiotic resistance. If and how this might occur has been explored in the recent opinion on “Antibiotic Resistance Effects of Biocides” by the Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) of the European Commission.
Biocides are added to many consumer goods such as cosmetics and detergents to kill bacteria or inhibit their growth. They are widely used in animal husbandry, food production and health care.
According to the SCENIHR report, biocide use could pose a direct threat to human health if it leads to the survival of some harmful bacteria which are resistant to antimicrobial products. Even the emergence of harmless resistant bacteria could pose
Can indirect threat, since their genes that confer resistance might be transferred to harmful bacteria.
To safeguard our ability to treat infections with antibiotics, a good hygiene to prevent infection and the appropriate use of biocides are crucial.
Different biocides act in different ways and some are more likely to lead to the emergence of resistant bacteria than others.
The risk of spreading resistant genes depends on the type of bacteria involved. Bacteria that grow as a biofilm attached to a surface are particularly able to survive hostile conditions and pose a high risk of resistance to both antibiotics and biocides.
For further details read the full GreenFacts summary on the Effects of Biocides on Antibiotic Resistance
Serious questions are being raised about the environmental impacts of producing liquid biofuels for transport, the costs of policies to promote them and their possible unintended consequences.
Even though production of biofuels such as ethanol and biodiesel is growing rapidly, their contribution to total transport fuel consumption in the coming decades will remain limited. In contrast, the effects of increased biofuel production on global agricultural markets, the environment and on food security are already significant and are stirring controversy.
What could be the future role of biofuels for agriculture, food security and climate change?
Insights are provided by the GreenFacts summary of 2008-State of Food and Agriculture report of the FAO.
Read the GreenFacts summary on Liquid Biofuels for Transport – Prospects, risks and opportunities
According to a recent announcement by the WHO, the H1N1 influenza virus is now the dominant influenza strain in most parts of the world and in the northern hemisphere to prepare for a second wave of pandemic spread.
To date, there are no signs that the virus has mutated to a more virulent or lethal form.
The overwhelming majority of patients continue to experience mild illness. Although the virus can cause very severe and fatal illness, also in young and healthy people, the number of such cases remains small.
How is H1N1 different from seasonlal influenza?
To date, most severe cases and deaths have occurred in adults under the age of 50 years, with deaths in the elderly comparatively rare. This age distribution is in stark contrast with seasonal influenza, where around 90% of severe and fatal cases occur in people 65 years of age or older.
Perhaps most significantly, a very severe form of disease is also observed in young and otherwise healthy people, which is rarely seen during seasonal influenza infections. In these patients, the virus directly infects the lung, causing severe respiratory failure. Saving these lives depends on highly specialized and demanding care in intensive care units, usually with long and costly stays.
The WHO provides information on how to best prepare for and respond to the pandemic: http://www.who.int/csr/disease/swineflu/en/
See also the GreenFacts summary on Global Public Health Threats
From mobile phones and computer screens to vacuum cleaners and power lines, electromagnetic fields are an inescapable part of daily life. But there is concern that everyday exposure to some of these fields of force might be harmful to health, especially to children. Are current safety limits adequate in the light of recent scientific evidence?
In 2009, based on the very latest scientific data available, the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR) answers this question in a report which has been summarised by GreenFacts.
Read the GreenFacts summary on Electromagnetic fields.
Montreal is currently welcoming hundreds of scientists studying the atmosphere, the oceans and the ice for MOCA 2009, which is the joint assembly of the the International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences (IAMAS), the International Association for the Physical Sciences of the Oceans (IAPSO) and the International Association of Cryospheric Sciences (IACS).
Climate in general and polar regions in particular are high on the agenda. With the International Polar Year just behind us, new results of concerted research efforts ar
e emerging, and they seem to confirm that polar regions are both affected by larger changes in temperatures and more vulnerable to those changes than lower latitudes, as previously laid out in the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment in 2005.
GreenFacts published a summary of the Arctic Climate Impact Assessment.
Every year, more than 100 000 monkeys and apes are used for biomedical research around the world for biomedical research and for testing the safety of new drugs. Are there alternatives to the use of primates in research and testing? Would it be feasible to stop using them altogether? GreenFacts faithfully summarized the recent assessment by the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER).
Read the GreenFacts summary on the use of non-human primates in research and safety testing
In this issue, we look into whether kids can safely chew on erasers, if energy-saving lamps might backlash on our health, and how to prevent and treat malaria.
Read our Newsletter
Today (18 June 2009) , the synthesis report of the Climate Change Congress has been released in view of the UNFCCC’s conference of parties (COP 15) which will take place in December in Copenhagen. At this upcoming conference, the world leaders will hammer out a new framework agreement on climate change mitigation that will take force in 2012, following the end of the Kyoto protocol.
The primary scientific basis for upcoming policy decisions the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published in 2007. To bring together new knowledge that emerged since the IPCC report, the International Alliance of Research Universities organised an international scientific congress on climate change, which was held in Copenhagen from 10-12 March 2009. 2500 people attended, many of whom had also been contributors to the IPCC reports.
In addition to the proceedings of the congress, a short synthesis report was prepared, which presents an up-to-date overview of a broad range of research relevant to climate change – including fundamental climate science, the impacts of a changing climate on society and environment, and the many tools and approaches available to deal effectively with the challenge of climate change. Next year the accompanying book will be published with more background information.
The report is not strictly an update of the IPCC assessment because it is intended as a strong input to COP15 to underline the urgency to act and it did not undergo the rigorous double (science and government) review process of the IPCC. But the synthesis report is nonetheless a clear statement of the scientific community.
You can read the Congress’ report on its website, and you can also have a look at our summary of the IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report .
Some school supplies, such as erasers, contain phthalates – substances that are added to plastics to make them soft. Can regularly chewing on such articles cause harmful health effects? GreenFacts faithfully summarized the recent assessment by the European Commission Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER)
Read the GreenFacts summary on Phthalates in school supplies
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Currently, conventional incandescent lamps are being replaced with more energy-efficient compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). Do these energy-saving lamps aggravate the symptoms in patients with certain diseases? GreenFacts faithfully summarized the recent assessment by the European Commission Scientific Committee on Emerging and Newly Identified Health Risks (SCENIHR)
Read the GreenFacts summary on: Energy-Saving Lamps and Health
