Diabetes drug found in freshwater is a potential cause of intersex fish [View all]
A medication commonly taken for Type II diabetes, which is being found in freshwater systems worldwide, has been shown to cause intersex in fish -male fish that produce eggs.
A study by Rebecca Klaper at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee determined exposure to the diabetes medicine metformin causes physical changes in male fish exposed to doses similar to the amount in wastewater effluent.
In addition to intersex conditions, fish exposed to metformin were smaller in size than those not exposed, said Klaper, a professor in UWM's School of Freshwater Sciences.
The study, co-authored by Nicholas Niemuth, a researcher in Klaper's lab, was recently published in the journal Chemosphere.
Read more: http://phys.org/news/2015-04-diabetes-drug-freshwater-potential-intersex.html
Cross-posted in the Energy & Environment Group.
Please dispose any unused prescriptions in any environmentally conscious manner.
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