Monday, April 15, 2002

Thank the Goddess for Cloning

From ABC:

Male frogs exposed to even very low doses of a common weed killer can develop multiple sex organs — sometimes both male and female — researchers in California have discovered.

Atrazine is the most commonly used weed killer in North America and can be found in rainwater, snow runoff and ground water.

"There is virtually no atrazine-free environment."

The Environmental Protection Agency permits up to three parts per billion of atrazine in drinking water.

But it affected frogs at doses as small as 0.1 part per billion.

As the amount of atrazine increased, as many as 20 percent of frogs exposed during their early development produced multiple sex organs or had both male and female organs. Many had small, feminized larnynxes.

The research team concluded that the effect on the frogs results from atrazine causing cells to produce the enzyme aromatase, which is present in vertebrates and converts the male hormone testosterone to the female hormone estrogen.

The effects on frogs in the study occurred at exposure levels more than 600 times lower than the dose that has been seen to induce aromatase production in human cells.

Doesn't SHE work in mysterious ways?

I wonder how all the Pale Penis People will interpret this one.

For the complete article, click here.

posted by Bohica at 6:48 PM