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Medicine Science

Study First To Link Weed Killer Roundup To Convulsions In Animals (phys.org) 79

Posted by BeauHD from the connecting-the-dots dept.
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Phys.Org: A recent report by the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found more than 80 percent of urine samples from children and adults in the U.S. contained the herbicide glyphosate. A study by Florida Atlantic University and Nova Southeastern University takes this research one step further and is the first to link the use of the herbicide Roundup, a widely used weed killer, to convulsions in animals. Glyphosate, the weed killer component in Roundup, is the world's most commonly used herbicide by volume and by land-area treated. Glyphosate-resistant crops account for almost 80 percent of transgenic crop cultivated land, which has resulted in an estimated 6.1 billion kilos of glyphosate sprayed across the world from 2005 to 2014. Roundup is used at both industrial and consumer levels, and its use is projected to dramatically increase over the coming years.A major question, yet to be fully understood, is the potential impact of glyphosate on the nervous system.

Results, published in Scientific Reports, showed that glyphosate and Roundup increased seizure-like behavior in soil-dwelling roundworms and provides significant evidence that glyphosate targets GABA-A receptors. These communication points are essential for locomotion and are heavily involved in regulating sleep and mood in humans. What truly sets this research apart is that it was done atsignificantly lesslevels than recommended by the EPA and those used in past studies. "The concentration listed for best results on the Roundup Super Concentrate label is 0.98 percent glyphosate, which is about 5 tablespoons of Roundup in 1 gallon of water," said [project lead Akshay S. Naraine]. "A significant finding from our study reveals that just 0.002 percent glyphosate, a difference of about 300 times less herbicide than the lowest concentration recommended for consumer use, had concerning effects on the nervous system."

Using C. elegans, a soil-dwelling roundworm, researchers first tested glyphosate alone and then both the U.S. and United Kingdom formulations of Roundup from two distinct time periods -- before and after the U.K.'s 2016 ban on polyethoxylated tallowamine (POEAs). These conditions were selected to pinpoint which effects are specific to the active ingredient glyphosate, Roundup formulations in general, the POEAs surfactants, or any combination of these. The study found that the active ingredient glyphosate exacerbated convulsions in C. elegans and suggest the GABA-A receptor as a neurological target for the observed physiological changes. The data also indicate that there is an important distinction between exposure to glyphosate and Roundup, with Roundup exposure increasing the percentage of C. elegans that did not recover from seizure activity. The non-recovery phenotype and prolonged convulsions in C. elegans from this study have helped to set a foundation for understanding nuanced physiological effects of herbicide that occur at concentrations exponentially below neurotoxic levels.
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Study First To Link Weed Killer Roundup To Convulsions In Animals More

Study First To Link Weed Killer Roundup To Convulsions In Animals

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  • No, you have it all wrong (Score:4, Funny)

    by blastard ( 816262 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @10:56PM (#62816477)

    Clearly it can only kill the things you don't like, and leaves everything else in fine condition. [sarcasm off]

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by khchung ( 462899 )

      Clearly it can only kill the things you don't like, and leaves everything else in fine condition. [sarcasm off]

      So obviously, there are clearly better alternatives that have all the advantages of this weed killer but none of the downsides, right?

      Gee, I know! Just stop farming and we don't need to use any weed killers ever again! Win-win all round, right? /s

    • Re: (Score:2, Redundant)

      by quenda ( 644621 )

      Clearly it can only kill the things you don't like, and leaves everything else in fine condition. [sarcasm off]

      Are you retarded? Glyphosate is terribly useful, but nobody ever claimed it was a selective herbicide. Go find another strawman to harass.

  • it doesn't matter for one reason (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @11:01PM (#62816485)

    Monsanto already purchased all the politicians they need from both political parties. It doesn't matter what facts show, since they don't care and already own DC. Have a nice day.

    if you want to fix this, vote out 90% of congress, put in term limits, require politicians to tattoo the corporate sponsors on their forehead and patches on their clothes. Maybe then people will stop voting in corrupt greedy people into office.

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      vote out 90% of congress, put in term limits

      If you can vote them out, you don't need term limits

      • Actually, term limits might help reduce the dependence on corporate subsidies for massive media campaigns for perpetual re-election attempts. If politicians know they will only be in office for a moderately-limited term, they won't worry about trying to make a spot in congress a 50-year career.

        We could start with a 10-year term and elect a fresh perspective in congress on a regular basis. If 10-year limit is good enough for the office of President, it should be good enough for Congress.

        • Re:it doesn't matter for one reason (Score:4, Insightful)

          by phantomfive ( 622387 ) on Wednesday August 24, 2022 @01:53AM (#62816675) Journal

          Term limits are problematic because while politicians change, lobbyists don't. Lobbyists just get more and more experience manipulating politicians, and keep getting new fresh ones to manipulate.

          The only solution is for the population to pay attention, but mostly we're worried about pictures in textbooks.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Opportunist ( 166417 )

          No, then they'll worry to suck up to companies faster and more efficiently so they get a cozy board spot for the time after their stay in congress.

          We have term limits over here. That's the net result.

          • The other net result can be that in the event of emergency-type situations (pandemics, riots, whatever) and delayed elections, you can end up with a totally defunct congress. Or, if you run out of people sleazy enough to be politicians, you end up with a totally defunct congress (because there's no one else who wants to run).

            Haiti is in about that situation right now... 10 out of 30 seats filled in their Senate (which is less than a quorum, so they effectively can't do anything), and 0 out of 119 seats fil

        • Senator is a 6yr post. So make it a 2 term limit. Congressman is a 2yr posting. Make it a 4 term limit. Combined, the most one can server is 8yr in the house and another 12 in the senate for 20yrs. If, and its a big if, they become potus, 28yr is the absolute cap.

        • Actually, term limits might help reduce the dependence on corporate subsidies for massive media campaigns for perpetual re-election attempts.

          Doesn't help. The Party is still reelected with a new puppet to put in front of the camera, rubber stamping whatever the financiers put in front of them. People just have to vote more carefully, it's in their hands

    • There's an unlimited supply of corrupt politicians that can replace any of them that hit the term limit but when it comes to you uncorruptible politicians there's a handful in the house and I think three or four in the Senate.

      What we really need is to teach critical thinking in schools, do a massive PSA on critical thinking and don't stop and we need things like ranked choice voting to break up the two party system created by winner take off first past the post voting. Also do something about gerrymande

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      Monsanto hasn't existed for four years, btw.

      If you are going to rail on about a company, at least rail on about one that still exists. Bayer bought them.

    • Monsanto already purchased all the politicians they need from both political parties. It doesn't matter what facts show, since they don't care and already own DC. Have a nice day.

      if you want to fix this, vote out 90% of congress, put in term limits, require politicians to tattoo the corporate sponsors on their forehead and patches on their clothes. Maybe then people will stop voting in corrupt greedy people into office.

      As others have pointed out term limits are a terrible idea.

      A better idea is making the political parties stronger.

      For all that people want their representative to be "independent" all it means in practice is that constituents have a lot more trouble predicting what the Representative stands for and the representative is a much easier target for lobbyists to influence. A party is much better able to tell a lobbyist to go pound sand because the party cares about their long-term electoral prospects.

      Just look a

      • Well, another thing we could try is the fix the 14th(?) amendment, and go back to having our Senators appointed by our state legislations. This would take out the money for electing them, AND, make them more answerable to the people of the state rather than national interests.

        They are there, supposedly, to represent the will of their constituents.....not lobbyists.

        • Well, another thing we could try is the fix the 14th(?) amendment, and go back to having our Senators appointed by our state legislations. This would take out the money for electing them, AND, make them more answerable to the people of the state rather than national interests.

          They are there, supposedly, to represent the will of their constituents.....not lobbyists.

          Well the Senate seems by far the more functional of your two legislative bodies. It's biggest issue is it's grossly unrepresentative of the population, but State legislatures would only exaggerate that due to gerrymandering.

          The problem is one of political attention, House Members are too plentiful to undergo real scrutiny so people win their primary based on very superficial media coverage and then they're elected (if it's a safe district, as most are) and constituents are now stuck with whatever random vie

          • So, would you say the gridlock caused by an oppositional relationship between Presidency and House is a bad thing?

            I may be cynical (scratch that... I AM cynical), but I'm of the strong opinion that the best government often is a gridlocked government that can't get anything done. That opinion really comes from the fact that most of what government does is against the people (and for the corporations), and there are obvious counterpoints to that (the government of Haiti is beyond gridlocked and can't get sh

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by mspohr ( 589790 )

      The problem is money.
      Every politician thinks they need more money to get elected. The rich and corporations are happy to give them money (bribes) in return for favorable laws so they quickly become corrupt.
      Campaign finance reform to limit these bribes would level the playing field (and reduce the number of irritating campaign commercials) but, of course, few politicians will vote against their ability to raise more money.

  • Here's a little hint. (Score:2)

    by Anonymous Coward

    Things that are poisonous to life are not a good thing to be spraying on our food, in our soil, in our air and water. These poisons will and do cause problems, and already have repeatedly.

    How all the PHd's have missed that for approximately the last 100 years that we've been spraying poisons on crops, I've no idea. lead arsenate. DDT. Glyphosate. and on and on. Will we ever learn?

    And when people start getting sick, well they call it a "new disease" and then a new drug or vaccine must be developed a

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      It's not a matter of learning anything. It's all about how much profit can be pushed up to the fewest people.

      The American Dream is a pyramid scheme of colossal proportions.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gtall ( 79522 )

      The "PhDs" haven't missed it, they've been warning about it for years. Company scientists, on the other hand, get paid to only research the benefits. Then there are the farmers who only lately have begun to consider the issue. And let's not forget the libertarians who scream gov. over reach towards any kind of regulation, especially regulation that might impact their income stream.

      • And let's not forget the libertarians who scream gov. over reach towards any kind of regulation, especially regulation that might impact their income stream.

        Murray Rothbard wouldn't agree with your take on the hypothetical libertarian's reaction.

        "The argument that such an injunctive prohibition against pollution would add to the costs of industrial production is as reprehensible as the pre-Civil War argument that the abolition of slavery would add to the costs of growing cotton, and that therefore abolition, however morally correct, was "impractical." For this means that the polluters are able to impose all of the high costs of pollution upon those whose lungs and property rights they have been allowed to invade with impunity."

        -- Murray N. Rothbard

        quote from: https://mises.org/library/libe... [mises.org]

        However, you are pointing to a truth; that at least one (non-libertarian) group will have that exact complaint.

  • Soil (Score:5, Insightful)

    by slack_justyb ( 862874 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @11:04PM (#62816497)

    It should be noted that the concern for human health is just one facet of the broader implications of our findings. C. elegans are soil-dwelling nematodes, so there is also a significant neuroethological perspective presented.

    I think this is really the lead here. Caenorhabditis elegans play a critical role in the recycling of soil bacteria into nutrients for plant life. This could be a very realistic link to Glyphosate and soil requiring more supplemental nitrogen to maintain growth. If anything this alone would absolutely warrant further study.

    POEA is a family of ethoxylated tallowamines, so even though we have used POE-15, we are not certain that POE-15 is included in the Roundup formulation. Understanding which chemical components are driving our observations is an essential undertaking. Many herbicidal formulations are trade secrets, and the unknown chemical components create enormous confounds for mechanistic studies.

    And there's the brick wall there. No way that anyone is going to open the formulation for study so that we can fully understand the underlying mechanism. Bayer would absolutely have first crack at it and a new "friendlier" Round Up would be what they give as opposed to actually helping us understand the full process by which this happens.

    • Caenorhabditis elegans play a critical role in the recycling of soil bacteria into nutrients for plant life. This could be a very realistic link to Glyphosate and soil requiring more supplemental nitrogen to maintain growth. If anything this alone would absolutely warrant further study.

      There isn't one lead here, although that really is very important. The environmental impact of glyphosate has been consistently downplayed, but we now know that it persists in anaerobic conditions such as are common due to the impact of farm machinery on soil structure. Specifically, the vehicles rolling over the soil creates hardpan, which retards drainage. Deep root cover crops are not used because they are incompatible with mechanical tilth, so the hardpan persists — and so does the glyphosate [core.ac.uk].

      Many herbicidal formulations are trade secrets, and the unknown chemical components create enormous confounds for mechanistic studies.

      And there's the brick wall there. No way that anyone is going to open the formulation for study so that we can fully understand the underlying mechanism.

      That

  • Roundworm Convulsions (Score:3)

    by joe_n_bloe ( 244407 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @11:14PM (#62816507) Homepage

    I'm okay with that.

  • Seriously. Roundup has caused plenty of human health issues. Anyone that is shocked that animals are also suffering health issues.. I don't even know how to politely say to those people or what anyone could say except, "no shit dumbass."

  • I'm also RoundUp Ready! (Score:3)

    by thesjaakspoiler ( 4782965 ) on Tuesday August 23, 2022 @11:19PM (#62816513)

    I use it as an alternative for shampoo, deoderant and toothpaste.
    No nasty bugs on my body anymore!
    DDT is getting a bit hard to get these days.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]

  • Did some incredible published research on this almost 80 years ago. Chemical companies are selling their chemicals as safe which is an absolute falsehood.
  • So I found it that white vinegar is 100% effective at killing any plant. Carefully put some on leaves and roots, plant dies in days. At least for me around the house, this has been a revelation and I've thrown out the Roundup.

    • >"So I found it that white vinegar is 100% effective at killing any plant. Carefully put some on leaves and roots, plant dies in days. At least for me around the house, this has been a revelation and I've thrown out the Roundup."

      Useful info, however...

      1) That won't work for farming. They are spraying EVERYTHING with the herbicide so it will kill the weeds intermixed in the crops. A non-resistant crop would die along with the weeds.

      2) Home use of Roundup is of almost no risk to humans (as long as you ke

    • How does it affect nematodes?
    • What does the use of vinegar do to the long-term pH balance of your soil? I'm guessing that "killing plants with acid" might not be the most sustainable approach to weed control.

    • That's great for houseplants or herb gardens but not too practical on other scales. If you had the robotics to do it automatically you would instead simply use it to snip weeds off near the soil surface with scissors, before they make seed heads. This converts weeds into mulch. If you keep running the robots through on a frequent enough schedule, they keep it up until the energy stored in the roots is expended and the weeds die off, leaving behind their organic material in the soil where it shrivels as the

  • ... that this is what's truly behind all the crazy cult people that are suddenly everygoddamwhere.

  • Regardless of whether you think glyphosate is indispensable (Europe has just banned it, and already greatly limits it use), you might be concerned that over the past decade its use went from a pre-planting herbicide that was supposed to decompose over the season, to a much larger harvest-time application to help desiccate the crops.

    The end result is much, much greater usage and exposure. To the point that this was the deciding factor for many of my fellow life science researchers to commit to organic produc

  • ...causes convulsions in humans!

  • It's cheaper, effective, natural, and it's not going to cause a baby's arm to grow out of your forehead.

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