Frog researcher lectures Mayo Clinic docs on widely used weed-killer

Doctors at the Mayo Clinic heard a dire warning on the possible link between a widely used weed-killer and cancer. In a forum usually reserved for medical researchers, amphibian endocrinologist Tyrone Hayes of UC Berkeley talked about frogs, but his message was one with direct implications for human medicine. Exposure to the herbicide, Atrazine, results in what amounts to chemical castration. But it's caused by the activation of an enzyme found in both frogs and humans. The EPA’s official position, as usual, follows the innocent-'til-proven-guilty model: “We are not convinced that Atrazine causes cancer in humans.” Haynes’ most recent research uses human cell lines and shows that the herbicide causes mutations in human hormones similar to those found in breast cancer.

Get the full story at Minnesota Public Radio

Note 1/4/07: This post has been featured on TreeHugger's 'Blog Love'

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