Historical bird samples from a museum collection. (IMAGE)
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A new study highlights a surprising lens for tracking pollution trends over centuries: preserved plants and animals housed at natural history museums around the world. According to Shane DuBay, a researcher at The University of Texas at Arlington, these specimens contain valuable environmental data that can help scientists reconstruct pollution trends spanning more than 200 years.
“We often lack the historical pollution data needed to understand the links between environmental contamination and long-term health effects, such as cancer, asthma, cognitive disorders and premature birth,” said Dr. DuBay, lead author of the study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and an assistant professor of biology at UT Arlington. “By leveraging museum specimens, we can reconstruct environmental conditions from over a century ago and assess how pollution has impacted different communities.”
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UTA. Photo Carl Furdner and Shane DuBay.
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