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Tag: "pesticide" at biology news

Amphibians in losing race with environmental change

...ines, including UV-B light exposure, habitat loss, pesticide pollution, infections and other issues," said Andrew Blaustein, a professor of zoology at OSU and one of the world's leading experts on amphibian decline. "But looked at in a different way, it's not just that there are threats and pressures amphib...

Scientists discover rare 'gene-for-gene' interaction that helps bacteria kill their host

... used as a biological control mechanism to replace pesticide use. The researchers, from the universities of...m that is used to control insect pests and reduces pesticide use, so the more we know about it, the more useful it can be. "Insects are the major players in ...

100 percent of pregnant women have at least one kind of pesticide in their placenta

...ing: 100% of these pregnant women had at least one pesticide in their placenta, but the average rate amounts to..."inadvertent exposure", "it is possible to control pesticide ingestion by means of a proper diet, which should be healthy and balanced, through consumption of fo...

Yale biologists 'trick' viruses into extinction

... plants need to be sprayed, reducing the amount of pesticide use." Turner believes that similar trickery might be used against human viruses like HIV. He notes that HIV recognizes the T-cells it infects by CD4 molecules on the cell surface, but it then requires functions of the cell nucleus to reproduce. Cu...

Salamanders suffer delayed effects of common herbicide

... "We are concerned that most studies used to make pesticide registration decisions and to derive safe concentr...ther scientists have evidence suggesting that this pesticide is an endocrine disruptor. Such chemicals disrupt the production of hormones that are vital to n...

Exposure to dioxins influences male reproductive system, study of Vietnam veterans concludes

...ration, smelting, paper and pulp manufacturing and pesticide and herbicide production. Humans are exposed to these chemicals primarily through consumption of animal fat and dairy products. Babies are exposed to the highest levels of dioxins through breast milk. Dioxins are eliminated extremely slowly from t...

A green way to slag off bunnies

...ctive chemical, it could circumvent the convoluted pesticide regulatory approval pathway and be used straight away. ...

Pesticides need sunscreen to beat the heat

A pesticide with a new in-built sunscreen will help farmers be...iversity of Chemical Technology, believes that the pesticide will be more effective as a result, thereby reducing the amount required and the cost to the farmer....

Biotech cotton provides same yield with fewer pesticides

...usly examined how growing Bt cotton affects yield, pesticide use and biodiversity. It's good news for the envir...he University of Arizona in Tucson. "We've reduced pesticide use in Arizona. We've wanted to do that for 25 years." Bt cotton has been genetically altered to pr...

Bird brains shrink from exposure to contaminants

...idea. Birds are more susceptible to the effects of pesticide residues and other contaminants in the environment than other animals. As well, American robins are often exposed to high levels of DDT and other chemicals because they rely heavily on earthworms as part of their diet. They specifically chose these b...

Bt cotton in China fails to reap profit after seven years

...armers in the survey who had planted Bt cotton cut pesticide use by more than 70 percent and had earnings 36 percent higher than farmers planting conventional cotton. By 2004, however, they had to spray just as much as conventional farmers, which resulted in a net average income of 8 percent less than conventi...

Mosquito spray increases toxicity of pyrethroids in creek, study finds

...ction of compounds is a whole new issue when doing pesticide risk assessments that has been largely ignored by ...ticide contained a mixture of pyrethrin, a natural pesticide found in a type of chrysanthemum, and piperonyl butoxide (PBO). On its own, PBO has a low level of t...

Pesticides in the nation's streams and ground water

...t comprehensive national-scale analysis to date of pesticide occurrence in streams and ground water. Findings s...ide an initial perspective on the relevance of the pesticide concentrations to human health. USGS measurements were compared to EPA drinking-water standards and ...

Warming trend may contribute to malaria's rise

...l finds that, while other factors such as drug and pesticide resistance, changing land use patterns and human migration also may play roles, climate change cannot be ruled out. "Our results do not mean that temperature is the only or the main factor driving the increase in malaria, but that it is one of many ...

New DNA 'fingerprinting' technique separates hemp from marijuana

...o cotton fabric, among other uses. Cotton requires pesticide application and a hot climate, whereas hemp does not, which makes it suitable for local Minnesota agriculture. Weiblen seeks to screen a wider range of Cannabis cultivars to refine the technique. He is also working to identify regions of the Cannabis...

Marine mammals are on the frontline of failing ocean health

...e that reflects high use of DDT as an agricultural pesticide prior to the US ban in the 1970's. Similarly, chemical ratios that show high levels of flame retardants (PBDEs) are linked to areas near urban runoff and sewage outfalls. The signal of pollutants is so distinct that it is echoed in the tissues of ki...

Sustainable farm practices improve Third World food production

... tillage and integrated pest control, also reduced pesticide use and increased carbon sequestration. In addition, sustainable farming practices require less water, an important factor given that predictions suggest by 2025 most developing countries will face physical or economic water shortages, Pretty says. ...

Biotech cotton 8: Bugs 0

...ins plus the good bugs acting together have driven pesticide use to historic low levels ... this is a wonderful...percent, said Tabashnik. The reduction in chemical pesticide use saves growers about $80 per acre. According to the Arizona Agricultural Statistics Bulletin, the...

Kenya halts first field trials of GM maize

...overing that a technician had sprayed a restricted pesticide on maize modified to resist attack by insects called stem borers. Wilson Songa, Kenya's agriculture secretary and chair of the National Biosafety Committee, said this could compromise the validity of the trial's results. On 25 August, the committee...

New discovery: If it weren't for this enzyme, decomposing pesticide would take millennia

...second -- break down residues of a common powerful pesticide used for killing worms on potatoes, researchers ha...take 10,000 years for just half of the widely used pesticide to decompose. And the chemical would remain in the soil of the potato fields where it is now used in...

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