The Update

 Study links climate change with rising arsenic levels in rice, increasing cancer risks for Asians An increased exposure to arsenic is known to heighten the risk of cancers of the lung, bladder and skin, among others. Rice can also absorb additional arsenic from water used for cooking. "Our results suggest that this increase in arsenic levels could significantly elevate the incidence of heart disease, diabetes, and other non-cancer health effects," author Lewis Ziska, associate professor of environmental health sciences, Columbia University, said. Rising arsenic levels in rice Researchers from Columbia University, US, explained that an increase in temperatures above 2 degrees Celsius and rising levels of carbon dioxide could be causing changes in soil chemistry, favouring arsenic, which gets more easily absorbed into a rice grain. Contaminated soil and irrigated water while growing rice are known to increase inorganic arsenic in rice. Climate change could be resulting in high...