by Playfuls Staff |
30th May 2006
If you thought that global warming has exhausted its unpleasant surprises, well...think again. Researchers from Duke University have proven that global warming has benefic effect on poison ivy, making it [more] grow up to three times larger and produce a more allergenic form of urushiol, the substance that causes itches and rash.
Scientists simulated in a lab the atmosphere expected to exist in 2050, obviously incresing the level of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas - a chemical that traps heat similar to the way a greenhouse does - that's considered a major contributor to global warming. Greenhouse gases have been steadily increasing in the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution.
Urushiol (you-ROO-shee-ol) is an oil found in plants of the Family Anacardiaceae, especially Toxicodendron spp. (e.g. poison oak, poison-ivy, and poison sumac). It is also found in the nut shell of cashew fruit (Anacardium occidentale). It causes an allergic skin rash on contact, known as urushiol-induced contact dermatitis. The name comes from urushi, a lacquer produced in Japan from the sap of kiurushi trees (Toxicodendron vernicifluum). This chemical penetrates the outer layer of skin until it hits the dermis, and in the dermis an allergic reaction to the urushiol occurs. Urushiol does not spread through the body (although it may appear to because of the delay in symptoms caused by differing skin thicknesses). The blisters that form are also not "contagious." They do not contain urushiol. Still, the blistering rash is one of the most widely reported ailments to poison-control centers, with more than 350,000 reported cases a year.
"The fertilization effect of rising CO2 on poison ivy ... and the shift toward a more allergenic form of urushiol have important implications for the future health of both humans and forests," the study concludes.
