AIR pollution could be harming future generations as well as those directly exposed to it. A small study in Canada suggests pollution from coal fires can trigger genetic defects that are passed down the generations.
“It’s important work,” says a US government scientist who did not want to be named. “Of course, here we have an administration that is rolling back pollution controls on coal-fired power plants, so they aren’t going to be happy to hear this.”
Air pollution causes many health problems but the question of whether it has any inherited effects is difficult to study. James Quinn at…
