Environmental & Public Health

Nexleaf Analytics announced today that it is a Grand Challenges Explorations winner, an initiative funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Dr. Nithya Ramanathan, President, will pursue an innovative global health and development research project, titled “ColdTrace: Cellphone Sensor for Cold Chain Monitoring.”

Joe Creek has been a biological desert for decades. This small and unassuming stream flows north out of the Red Buttes Wilderness in Siskiyou County, California, and passes below the abandoned Blue Ledge Mine, after which its otherwise pristine water turns into a toxic brine as acidic as vinegar where only algae survives.

That closeness has a dollars-and-cents value. Cyclists travel at what Portland Bike Coordinator Roger Geller calls a “human-scale speed” that allows them to “stop and buy something.” Read the full story

When he became chief, many people wondered whether Mr. Cook, a skilled manager of Apple's operations, could ever rival the visionary influence of Mr. Jobs on Apple products. Instead, it appears Mr. Cook could make his earliest and most significant mark by changing how Apple's products are made. ''I want to give credit to Tim Cook for this,'' said Dara O'Rourke, associate professor of environmental and labor policy at the University of California, Berkeley. ''He's admitting they've got problems.''

Associate Professor Rachel Morello-Frosch M.P.H. '93, expert in environmental health and justice, has been honored with a 2012 Chancellor's Award for Public Service, in the area of Research in the Public Interest. She was selected for her high-level, rigorous research that contributes to the public good, her outstanding commitment to empowering underserved communities and building community partnerships, and her dedication to educating the next generation of scholars. Read the full story

There is little regulation of nail product manufacturers, said Thu Quach, a research scientist with the Cancer Prevention Institute of California who has studied the nail salon industry. Any amount of toxic chemicals in nail products can be dangerous to workers, she said, especially if the salons lack adequate ventilation. "Low levels in the products really add up when you are using them constantly," she said. Read the full story