Monday, June 22, 2026

Human Exposure and Public Health

CitiesHuman Exposure and Public Health

A Walk in the Park is Better with Birds

Green spaces in cities do wonders for our health, but what types of green spaces are best? A recent study found that people tend to experience greater happiness in parks with a high diversity of bird species. This helps inform city planners that when designing parks, trying to maximize bird life should be a high priority.

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EcosystemsEnvironmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public Health

COVID-19: Bats are Not the Problem, The Wildlife Market Is

“The need for public education about bats, including their positive and negative impacts, is urgent and vital to their conservation.” (Zhao 2020)

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CitiesEnvironmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public Health

Follow your nose: the importance of odor for stress relief in urban green spaces

As the world grapples with the COVID-19 pandemic, many people are experiencing increased stress and anxiety. Although social distancing is in practice, most recommendations say it’s still okay to take a walk outside (just keep your distance from others!). In fact, spending time in nature can help reduce stress. Researchers examined how sights, smells, and sounds affect stress recovery in urban natural areas.

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Environmental ScienceHuman Exposure and Public Health

Bats, Immunity, and COVID-19

Did you know that bats could help us fight human viral infections? Believe it or not, bats are incredible at staying well when infected by viruses! By studying how their immune systems respond to infection, researchers may be able to find new ways to help treat human diseases.

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Human Exposure and Public Health

An Environmental Fitness Tracker

Personal fitness trackers are all the rage, and their ease of use enables people to keep an eye on not only their physical activity, but their general fitness and wellness. What if you could use the same convenient method as a Fitbit to measure a type of environmental fitness like air quality?

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CitiesHuman Exposure and Public Health

The Role of the Built Environment in COVID-19 Transmission

We are in the midst of a true pandemic, with COVID-19 cases and deaths around the globe. Recent research, still in progress, sheds light in the various ways the built environment can contribute to COVID-19 transmission.

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EcosystemsHuman Exposure and Public Health

Deep breaths: a reduction in the relative abundance of deer mice and update on hantavirus seroprevalence in Yosemite National Park

We arrived at Camp Curry in the heart of Yosemite Valley well past dark, two days before our long-awaited and

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Human Exposure and Public HealthToxicology

Are everywhere chemicals contributing to lifestyle diseases?

There has been a lot of controversy recently about a group of chemicals that are found, well, nearly everywhere: phthalates. Their ubiquitous presence in our environment combined with their toxic effects observed in lab animals, have fueled concerns that they might be negatively impacting our health. What does the research on humans show?

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