Laboratory Study Shows Future Generations of Fish Affected by EDCs Exposure
Bisphenol A (BPA) is a chemical that is used in a variety of consumer products, such as water bottles, dental composites and resins used to line metal food and beverage containers. Often, aquatic environments such as rivers and streams become reservoirs for contaminants, including BPA. University of Missouri researchers and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) findings suggest that BPA could have adverse reproductive effects for humans and their offspring who are exposed to BPA as well.
Medaka, or Japanese rice fish, were used in the study to determine reproductive function following exposure to BPA. University of Missouri scientists determined that fish exposed to endocrine-disrupting chemicals will pass adverse reproductive effects onto their offspring as many as three generations later.
2015 Study Abstract
The transgenerational consequences of environmental contaminant exposures of aquatic vertebrates have the potential for broad ecological impacts, yet are largely uninvestigated. Bisphenol A (BPA) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE2) are two ubiquitous estrogenic chemicals present in aquatic environments throughout the United States and many other countries. Aquatic organisms, including fish, are exposed to varying concentrations of these chemicals at various stages of their life history. Here, we tested the ability of embryonic exposure to BPA or EE2 to cause adverse health outcomes at later life stages and transgenerational abnormalities in medaka fish. Exposures of F0 medaka to either BPA (100 μg/L) or EE2 (0.05 μg/L) during the first 7 days of embryonic development, when germ cells are differentiating, did not cause any apparent phenotypic abnormalities in F0 or F1 generations, but led to a significant reduction in the fertilization rate in offspring two generations later (F2) as well as a reduction of embryo survival in offspring three generations later (F3). Our present observations suggest that BPA or EE2 exposure during development induces transgenerational phenotypes of reproductive impairment and compromised embryonic survival in fish of subsequent generations. These adverse outcomes may have negative impacts on populations of fish inhabiting contaminated aquatic environments.
Sources and more information
Laboratory Study Shows Future Generations of Fish Affected by Endocrine Disruptor Exposure, USGS, 3/24/2015.
Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals can Adversely Affect Reproduction of Future Generations of Fish, University of Missouri, March 24, 2015.
Transgenerational effects from early developmental exposures to bisphenol A or 17α-ethinylestradiol in medaka, Oryzias latipes, nature, doi:10.1038/srep09303, 20 March 2015.
La semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient du 20 au 30 mars
En 2016, c’est la 11ème édition de la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides!
Après une 9ème édition très réussie qui compte à son actif plus de 1 300 actions dans 26 pays, couvrant ainsi tous les continents, la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient pour une dixième édition du 20 au 30 mars 2015.
Diffusez l’information de la Semaine pour les Alternatives aux Pesticides
La Semaine pour les Alternatives aux Pesticides #SPAP est une opération nationale et internationale annuelle ouverte à tous visant à promouvoir les alternatives aux pesticides. En 2015 c’est la 10ème édition!
Après une 9ème édition très réussie qui compte à son actif plus de 1 300 actions dans 26 pays, couvrant ainsi tous les continents, la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient pour une dixième édition du 20 au 30 mars 2015.
La semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient du 20 au 30 mars
En 2016 c’est la 11ème édition de la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides!
Après une 9ème édition très réussie qui compte à son actif plus de 1 300 actions dans 26 pays, couvrant ainsi tous les continents, la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient pour une dixième édition du 20 au 30 mars 2015.
Does scientific evidence truly support that pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are safe when used as directed?
The chemical-based conventional agriculture industry claims that the synthesized concoctions they sell as pesticides, herbicides, and insecticides are safe when used as directed, but does the scientific evidence truly support their assertions?
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Organic agriculturist and lecturer André Leu delves into a wealth of respected scientific journals to present the peer-reviewed evidence that proves the claims of chemical companies and pesticide regulators are not all they seem. Leu translates technical jargon into layman’s terms to break down the five most repeated myths about pesticide use: independent scientific analysis shows that pesticides are not at all as safe as industry leaders and regulatory agencies claim. The pesticide industry argues that human agriculture, and thereby the global population itself, cannot survive without using pesticides and herbicides, but Leu warns that human health is at great risk unless we break free of their toxic hold and turn to more natural methods of pest and weed regulation.
Researchers have linked antibiotic resistance with poor governance and corruption around the world.
Researchers have linked antibiotic resistance with poor governance and corruption around the world.
The team also found that antibiotic resistance levels were higher when healthcare was performed by the private sector. Image of map of world by corruption perceptions index via nicodds.
2015 Study Abstract
Objectives
To determine how important governmental, social, and economic factors are in driving antibiotic resistance compared to the factors usually considered the main driving factors—antibiotic usage and levels of economic development.
Design
A retrospective multivariate analysis of the variation of antibiotic resistance in Europe in terms of human antibiotic usage, private health care expenditure, tertiary education, the level of economic advancement (per capita GDP), and quality of governance (corruption). The model was estimated using a panel data set involving 7 common human bloodstream isolates and covering 28 European countries for the period 1998–2010.
Results
Only 28% of the total variation in antibiotic resistance among countries is attributable to variation in antibiotic usage. If time effects are included the explanatory power increases to 33%. However when the control of corruption indicator is included as an additional variable, 63% of the total variation in antibiotic resistance is now explained by the regression. The complete multivariate regression only accomplishes an additional 7% in terms of goodness of fit, indicating that corruption is the main socioeconomic factor that explains antibiotic resistance. The income level of a country appeared to have no effect on resistance rates in the multivariate analysis. The estimated impact of corruption was statistically significant (p< 0.01). The coefficient indicates that an improvement of one unit in the corruption indicator is associated with a reduction in antibiotic resistance by approximately 0.7 units. The estimated coefficient of private health expenditure showed that one unit reduction is associated with a 0.2 unit decrease in antibiotic resistance.
Conclusions
These findings support the hypothesis that poor governance and corruption contributes to levels of antibiotic resistance and correlate better than antibiotic usage volumes with resistance rates. We conclude that addressing corruption and improving governance will lead to a reduction in antibiotic resistance.
Antimicrobial Resistance: The Major Contribution of Poor Governance and Corruption to This Growing Problem, PLOS one, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0116746, March 18, 2015.
La semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient du 20 au 30 mars
En 2016 c’est la 11ème édition de la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides!
Après une 9ème édition très réussie qui compte à son actif plus de 1 300 actions dans 26 pays, couvrant ainsi tous les continents, la semaine pour les alternatives aux pesticides revient pour une dixième édition du 20 au 30 mars 2015.