This is one of my series entitled "Piqued Lite." In this series I discuss new scientific research fairly regularly. Please let me know if there are problems with the Chinese translation. My Chinese may not be perfect, but I have to make sure it is comprehensible!

這是我的一個系列，被稱為“Piqued Lite”。這個系列包含我對新科學研究的寫作。如果翻譯有問題請通知我。我的中文不需要是完美的，但它確實需要被理解！

Thanks for reading! /謝謝你的閱讀！

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向下滾動中文翻譯。/Scroll down for the Chinese translation.

Air Pollution is a Global Problem

Air pollution has been a problem, whether on a small or large scale, for most of human history. Even ancient man, burning a wood fire inside of a shelter or a cave would have been exposed to the dangers of airborne pollution in the form of wood smoke. However, since the industrial revolution, the specter of air pollution has taken on a much grander scale.

For hundreds of years, humanity has been struggling with the effects of dirty air, both on ourselves as well as our surroundings. In 19th century London, for instance, the widespread presence of soot, in the air and on all the surfaces, was so intense that it caused an evolutionary change in a local species of moth.

But, of course, the primary fear when it comes to air pollution is what it does to human beings.

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A Range Of Negative Effects

The effects of air pollution on people are multi-faceted. Some of those effects are fairly obvious. For instance, there are the cardiovascular problems, like wheezing, difficulty breathing or coughing.. Air pollution can cause chronic irritation or discomfort of the eyes, or increase the overall risk of heart attack or of cancer. In fact, air pollution might be the leading cause of cancer in the entire world.

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The Main Culprit: “Particulate Matter” or PM2.5

There are many types of air pollution, but by far the most prevalent and dangerous form around the world is called “particulate matter” (“PM”). This is, as it sounds, a very broad term for lots of tiny bits of solid and liquid pollution. PM comes in a variety of sizes, getting as small as 2.5microns in diameter. These “PM 2.5” particles are the most dangerous of all. They are so tiny that they get lodged deep inside of your lungs, where they can gum up the works and leach poisonous chemicals into your blood stream.

Although we already know there are many negative side effects of small PM pollution, scientists are always discovering new, terrible ways that PM pollution might harm us.

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The Effect of Fine PM Pollution On Placenta Development

Research published in PLOS One recently uncovered a new, previously unknown effect of fine PM air pollution. The researchers conducted experiments on a group of female lab rats. Half the rats were exposed to filtered air for 15 days, while the other half were exposed to a high concentration of fine PM air pollution for the same time period. All the rats in the experiment were impregnated and their placenta’s subsequently examined.

The purpose of the placenta is to give the developing fetus nutrients and oxygen inside the womb.. In order for the placenta to function correctly, the mother’s uterine lining must first attach to the developing embryo, and then build up new blood flow between the embryo and mother. This requires the development of vasculature – e.g. veins and capillaries. There are several important chemicals produced inside the mother which assist the placenta in developing. One of these chemicals is called “vascular endothelial growth factor A”. We’ll just refer to it as “FA”.

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Un-Encouraging results.

The observations and conclusions of the study are not positive. Compared to the rats exposed to filtered air, the rats exposed to fine PM air pollution had significantly reduced production of the FA necessary for the placenta to develop properly. As a result, the placenta size in those rats was significantly smaller than in the rats exposed to filtered air. The fine PM pollution had a clear inhibitory effect on placental development, which means fewer nutrients and less oxygen being sent to the fetus.

Even more unnerving – the negative effects of the air pollution exposure were not reversible. Once a rat was exposed to the air pollution, their placenta development was permanently reduced, even if they were exposed only to filtered air during the pregnancy.

Now, this is not a human study – and even as it relates to rats, the researchers consider their results preliminary in nature – with a more comprehensive study needed draw more definitive conclusions. However, for the billions of people, in almost every country on earth, exposed to high levels of fine PM air pollution, this is yet another frightening result. Until air pollution levels are reduced, around the world, these kinds of problems will be a constant concern. For now, especially if you live in a highly polluted area, find a good brand of air mask and where it religiously outdoors.

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空氣污染是一個全球性問題

空氣污染已成千上萬年的問題。以木材燃燒為例。這會造成危險的煙霧。 但是，從產業發明以來，問題越來越嚴重。今天，空氣污染是全球關注的問題。

空氣污染會影響人們以及周邊環境。例如，在十九世紀考慮倫敦。那時候有很多黑煙。這黑色煙灰改變了當地的飛蛾。飛蛾變成黑色而不是白色。

但當然，主要關注的是空氣污染對人的影響。

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許多負面影響。

空氣污染對人的影響各不相同。一些影響是顯而易見的，如心血管問題。 空氣污染也可能引起眼睛刺激，或增加心髒病發作或癌症的風險。 事實上，空氣污染可能是全球癌症的首要原因。

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主要罪魁禍首: 小粒子 “PM”

有多種類型的空氣污染。小顆粒污染是最危險的。我會把小顆粒稱為“PM”。“PM”由液體和固體的微小材料組成。. 最危險的“PM”的尺寸只有2.5微米。 這些小顆粒很小，使它們深深的粘在你的肺部。這很難呼吸。此外，您的肺部吸收有毒物質進入血液。

我們知道“PM”的許多負面影響。但是，新的可怕的副作用總是被發現。

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“PM”會對胎盤造成傷害。

“PLOS ONE”發表了一項新研究。 這項研究揭示了以前未知的“PM”負面影響。

科學家研究了一組實驗鼠。一半的老鼠只呼吸很乾淨的空氣。另一半只吸入非常污染的空氣，其中含有很多“PM”。這個持續了15天。然後所有的老鼠交配並懷孕。胎盤在每隻大鼠內生長。最後科學家檢查每個胎盤。

胎盤是非常重要的。 胎盤為未出生嬰兒提供氧氣和營養。 為了使胎盤生長，子宮必須與胚胎連接。這需要新的血管和毛細血管。稱為“血管內皮生長因子A”的化學物質有助於使其發生。我會稱這種化學品“FA”。

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結果不好。

暴露於“PM”有負面影響。這些老鼠的胎盤較小。那些老鼠產生的“FA”較少。這意味著胎盤不能正常發育。這也意味著寶寶接受的氧氣較少，養分少。

此外，這些更改是永久性的。如果鼠標暴露於“PM”，則無法變得更好。即使大鼠在懷孕期間呼吸清潔的空氣。

現在，你必須記住，這項研究不涉及人類。在作出任何結論之前，需要進行更多的研究。但是，每天都有數十億人暴露於“PM”。這就是為什麼這樣的研究是令人不安的。在世界上，空氣污染使人們進入實驗室老鼠。對於人，無處不在，暴露於空氣污染，日常生活成為一個實驗。 “空氣污染如何影響我？"

空氣污染問題解決之前，這些問題仍將繼續提出。在此之前，只有一個好的建議。 買一個好的空氣過濾面膜

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請支持“SteemSTEM”項目！ SteemSTEM有助於在STEEMIT上創建和支持STEM內容。

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Information Source/信息來源:

[1]Article Source: Exposure to fine particulate matter in the air alters placental structure and the renin-angiotensin system Soto SdF, Melo JOd, Marchesi GD, Lopes KL, Veras MM, et al. (2017) Exposure to fine particulate matter in the air alters placental structure and the renin-angiotensin system. PLOS ONE 12(8): e0183314.
[2][Other sources linked as appropriate throughout the article/其他來源與文章中的適當鏈接。]

Picture Source/圖像來源:

[1] By Kevin Dooley from Chander, AZ, USA (Beijing smog) CC BY 2.0,via Wikimedia Commons