air pollution and health

Clean air has long been recognized as a requisite for mammalian survival. In fact, the National Library of Medicine lists over 8,000 publications citing this, including the terms “air pollution” and “mortality.” How have U.S. mortality rates and life expectancies changed during recent decades of improving ambient air quality?
It's tough not to run across an article linking – by association – air pollution with adverse health effects. Over time scientists have focused more of their research on one component of our air: PM2.5. A new study has identified some of the smallest particles within PM2.5 in our central nervous system.