Perils of plastics: Risks to human health and the environment

Contact: Joe Caspermeyer, joseph.caspermeyer@asu.edu, 480-727-0369Arizona State University Plastics surround us. A vital manufacturing ingredient for nearly every existing industry, these materials appear in a high percentage of the products we use every day. Although modern life would be hard to imagine without this versatile chemistry, products composed of plastics also have a dark side, due […]

Graphics from the near future: Children of Men

25 December 2016 (Desdemona Despair) – Don’t tell Desdemona that you haven’t seen Children of Men. This film is pure doomer porn, executed with the deft and utterly convincing cinematic touch of the great Alfonso Cuarón. Hie thee to the nearest video store / Red Box / Netflix queue and consume immediately. It’s 2027, and […]

Video: Desdemona News for 12 March 2010

BLANCHE This is Desdemona News for Friday, March 12th, 2010. Melting Arctic ice could cost global agriculture, real estate, and insurance anywhere from 2.4 trillion to $24 trillion by 2050, in damage from rising sea levels, floods, and heat waves, according to a report released last Friday. EDDIE Severe forest fires in Vietnam’s northern mountainous […]

Atrazine found in Australia river system

By Peter Gardiner | 5th March 2010 A CHEMICAL linked to sex changes in frogs and chemical castration has been found in samples taken from the Noosa River system. However, fish health expert Dr Matt Landos said the levels of atrazine, which is used as a weed killer, were not of sufficient concentration to be […]

Mysterious cancer kills California sea lions

By INGFEI CHENPublished: March 4, 2010 For 14 years, since they first reported that a disturbing proportion of deaths among rescued California sea lions were caused by metastatic cancer, researchers have been trying to pinpoint the source of the illness. In 1996, Dr. Frances Gulland, the director of veterinary science at the Marine Mammal Center […]

Common weedkiller turns male frogs into females

  By Maggie Fox, Health and Science EditorWASHINGTONWed Mar 3, 2010 3:36pm EST WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Atrazine, one of the most commonly used and controversial weedkillers, can turn male frogs into females, researchers reported on Monday. The experiment is the first to show such complete effects of atrazine, which had been known to disrupt hormones […]

San Francisco Bay mussels to be studied for contamination by industrial chemicals

By Kelly Zito, Chronicle Staff Writer Sunday, December 27, 2009 State scientists on Monday will cull mussels from the waters around Treasure Island as part of a national study of so-called “emerging contaminants” – certain compounds found in everyday items like shampoo, bedding and birth control pills. California and federal officials say such chemicals are […]

Herbicide affects sexual development in frogs

OTTAWA, December 3, 2009 — The controversy surrounding the unintended effects of herbicide and pesticide use has intensified as researchers from the University of Ottawa’s Department of Biology have identified that atrazine, a heavily-used herbicide, alters the sexual development in frogs. There have been numerous scientific and journalistic reports on the detrimental effects of herbicides, […]

Hundreds of industrial chemicals found in U.S. newborns

By Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff WriterThursday, December 3, 2009 Chemicals from cosmetics, perfumes and other fragrances were detected along with dozens of other industrial compounds in the umbilical cords of African American, Asian and Latino infants in the United States, according to a national study released Wednesday. Laboratory tests paid for by the nonprofit Environmental […]

Plastic chemicals 'feminise boys'

Chemicals in plastics alter the brains of baby boys making them “more feminine” and uninterested in rough games, say researchers. Males exposed to high doses in the womb went on to be less likely to play with boys’ toys like cars or to join in rough and tumble games, they found. The University of Rochester […]

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