Atrazine
A few years ago, the common media and superficial influencers ridiculed Alex Jones when he reported on a 2010 study of atrazine from UC Berkeley. (“It turns the freakin’ frogs gay!”)
Had they invested a fraction of the time spent trying to convince people that it wasn't true and took a look at the actual study, they would have seen that he had come pretty close to accurately describing the effect.
Now a new study reinforces the previous one, and raises even more concerns about allowing the herbicide into our environment and particularly our drinking water. It looks like it not only affects frogs, but also humans.
This new research examines data going as far back as 1997, and is the combined effort of twenty-two authors from around the world, representing effects "described by independent laboratories in eight different countries on five continents."
Some of the demasculinization findings on the males of the species studied include:
- A decrease in the size and cell count of the testes.
- A decrease in sperm counts.
- Decreased androgen production.
- Rudimentary egg cells produced in the testes
- Development of ovaries during the developmental period.
- The findings were consistent across not only frog species, but across other vertebrates such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, and mammals.
- Some of these effects (such as low sperm count, low fertility, and poor semen quality) are also seen in humans living in agricultural areas where atrazine is used.
In addition to the male-specific effects, also seen was impaired mammary development, the induction of reproductive and hormone-dependent cancers, impaired immune function and impaired neural development.
See also:
- Demasculinization and feminization of male gonads by atrazine: Consistent effects across vertebrate classes
- New Study Confirms Atrazine's Effects Across a Range of Species (Including Us)
- Herbicide Linked to Prostate Inflammation