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...the diabetes drug metformin was the most common personal care product found by researchers with the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
More importantly, according to their latest research, the levels of metformin were so high that the drug could be disrupting the endocrine systems of fish.
...(Metformin) is so ubiquitous it can easily be found in water samples taken two miles off the shore of Lake Michigan.
...The drugs get into the sewage and eventually the lake because they are not broken down completely after they are consumed and then excreted.
....Other commonly found substances include caffeine, sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic, and triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal found in soap and other consumer products.
....The study ....found gene expression suggesting disruption of the endocrine system of male fish, but not females. In essence, the males were producing biochemicals that are associated with female minnows. The biochemicals are precursors to the production of eggs.
The UWM research confirms what others have found regarding prescription drugs showing up in America's lakes, rivers and streams, said Melissa Lenczewski, an associate professor of geology and environmental geosciences at Northern Illinois University.
For years, it was assumed that the volume of water in the Great Lakes was so enormous that any drugs that got through treatment facilities would be diluted to the point that they would not pose a problem, said Lenczewski, who was not a part of the UWM study.
That theory itself now is being diluted.
Even more concerning are the much higher levels of antibiotics that are being put into rivers and streams near pig farms where the drugs are used to produce larger animals, she said.
In addition, strains of antibiotic-resistant bacteria also have been found in water near those farms, she said.
"It is very alarming how much we are putting drugs out there in the environment," she said.
originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: soficrow
The arrogance of people defending modern "medicine" and attacking holistic treatment is astonishing.
Say what you want about the effectiveness of these holistic treatments but they don't have destructive side effects and disrupt the chemistry of the Earth's biosphere.
Keep tinkering. I wonder what the next intelligent life form to arise on Earth will be? I'm going with birds. Give them another million years and they'll be constructing nukes with articulated feet.
originally posted by: nOraKat
There is definitely a lot of chemicals in our water.
I put a tray of water on my old-school steam radiator heater to keep the air humid.
When the water gets to about 8% or so, the water turns into a sludge, with many solid crystal formations. This tells me there is a very high amount of dissolved matter in our water. There should be a budget for independent water testing in our country.
originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
a reply to: soficrow
The arrogance of people defending modern "medicine" and attacking holistic treatment is astonishing.
Say what you want about the effectiveness of these holistic treatments but they don't have destructive side effects and disrupt the chemistry of the Earth's biosphere.
originally posted by: InverseLookingGlass
Say what you want about the effectiveness of these holistic treatments but they don't have destructive side effects and disrupt the chemistry of the Earth's biosphere.
A wide range of substances, both natural and man-made, are thought to cause endocrine disruption, including pharmaceuticals, dioxin and dioxin-like compounds, polychlorinated biphenyls, DDT and other pesticides, and plasticizers such as bisphenol A. Endocrine disruptors may be found in many everyday products– including plastic bottles, metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.
originally posted by: framedragged
a reply to: soficrow
But Soficrow, haven't you heard? Humans are too insignificant, small, and helpless to possibly have any widespread negative impacts on our environment!
This is just more evil rich science funded by those rich aristocrat scientists! I mean, there's still snow on some parts of the planet and they want us to believe in global warming; now they expect us to believe in this and antibiotic-resistant bacteria all at the same time?! HAH AHAH!
/sarcasm
[Hamilton and Mestler] compared the lifespans of 297 castrated inmates at a Kansas institution for the mentally retarded with those of 735 intact males at the same facility. The castrated males had gone under the knife at ages from 8 to 59 years old, with the average age ranging from 12 (!) in 1898 to 30 in 1923. They didn't vary markedly from intact inmates in terms of IQ, type of mental disability, and so on, suggesting there had been no firm criteria for the operation other than possibly your getting on the hospital staff's nerves — too bad if you were an inmate but lucky for science, since except for castration the two groups were indistinguishable.
Result: the castrated inmates on average lived 13.6 years longer than the intact ones (55.7 vs 69.3 years). What's more, the earlier you were castrated, the longer you lived.