Burning Issues in Air Pollution

(Beijing) -- Hidden beneath a recent debate on an air pollution study are questions on the limits of scientific research in China. Air pollution has become a major public health issue in the country, but barriers to research continue to overshadow information on its negative impacts.

A paper by researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Tsinghua University, Peking University and Hebrew University found that the use of coal for heating among China's northerners led to a cut in life expectancy by at least five years in the 1990s compared to those in the south. The conclusion sparked uproar among government officials and researchers.