"Consumers who switched from polycarbonate-plastic water bottles to metal ones in hopes of avoiding the risk that bisphenol A will leach into their beverages aren’t necessarily any better off, a new study finds."

People whose blood contains more of the chemicals (BPA and phthalates) found in household plastics are likelier to have impaired thyroid function, a new large-scale study confirms.

"Pregnant women who smoke are much more likely to deliver babies with missing or deformed limbs, clubfoot, cleft palate and gastrointestinal problems than nonsmokers, finds the first study to identify the specific birth defects most associated with smoking."

Some half a million people live in Texas' colonias, impoverished communities often without flush toilets, clean drinking water, or electricity. Such commmunities exist in other border states, and their residents suffer disproportionately from a spectrum of serious diseases that arise from this environment.

"An international study which debunks research linking cellphones to cancer risks received major funding from wireless manufacturers."

"The world has seen seven global cholera outbreaks since 1817, and the current one seems to have come to stay. Rising temperatures and a stubbornly persistent, toxic bacteria strain appear to have given the disease the upper hand."