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Lock Up Your Mice! Pollution Gives Them Brain Damage, Study Says
Photo by Amateur Foto via the LAist Featured Photos pool on Flickr
If you were under the misguided notion that your lungs were the only part of your body being damaged by a steady stream of inhaled smog, think again. Researchers at USC have published a study demonstrating that miniscule particles made up of burning fossil fuel and deterioration of car parts and pavement found in pollution created by freeways causes brain damage in mice, reports the Huffington Post:
Exposure to the particles, which are too small to be captured by car filtering systems, were shown to significantly damage neurons used in learning and memory, as well as cause signs of inflammation associated with premature aging and Alzheimer's disease.
For the study, which was published in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, mice were exposed to "air laden with freeway particulate matter," according to HuffPo, for 150 hours over a span of ten weeks.
No word on whether the mice will now choose to pack up and move to Denver, or start complaining that bagels are better in New York.
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You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.
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