Herbicide

It was the late 1980s when Gary Mund felt his pinky tremble. At first it seemed like a random occurrence, but pretty quickly he realized something was seriously wrong.Within two years, Mund — a crew worker with the Eastern Municipal Water District in Riverside County — was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The illness would eventually consume much of his life, clouding his speech, zapping most of his motor skills and taking away his ability to work and drive. “It sucks,” said Mund, 69. He speaks tersely, because every…

Just as antibiotic resistance is a problem for human health, herbicide resistance represents a huge problem for the agricultural sector. Researchers have devised a novel strategy to address the issue by repurposing a "failed" antibiotic as a herbicide.Farmers have a lot to contend with when it comes to protecting their crops: the insects that eat the plants, the microbes that infect leaves, shoots, and roots, and invasive weeds that compete with crops for soil and Sun.Herbicide options are decreasing because of the spread…

By Washington University in St. Louis December 6, 2022A farmer spraying herbicide on crops.Amines can have a damaging effect on human and environmental health.“Dicamba drift,” or the movement of the herbicide dicamba through the atmosphere, can cause unintentional damage to surrounding plants. Other chemicals, usually amines, are added with dicamba to “lock” it in place and prevent it from volatilizing, or turning into a vapor that flows more readily in the atmosphere.Assistant professor of energy, environmental and…

Scientists have demonstrated that glyphosate, a commonly used herbicide, can cross the blood-brain barrier.Researchers are exploring possible effects on the brain.Neurodegenerative diseases like <span class="glossaryLink" aria-describedby="tt" data-cmtooltip="<div class=glossaryItemTitle>Alzheimer’s</div><div class=glossaryItemBody>Alzheimer's disease is a disease that attacks the brain, causing a decline in mental ability that worsens over time. It is the most common…

The notorious weed-killer, Roundup, originally made by Monsanto and acquired by Bayer, has been found to cause seizure-like convulsions in roundworms.When a soil-dwelling species, Caenorhabditis elegans, was exposed to highly diluted samples of Roundup – 300 times lower than the lowest concentration recommended for consumer use – researchers found the herbicide elicited prolonged paroxysms.In a third of the worm models, the toxic effects of Roundup and its main ingredient, glyphosate, could only be halted with drug…