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UK scientists say they have conducted an unprecedented, long-term study showing a link between Roundup - one of the most widely used herbicides in the world - and severe liver damage in test rats.
The research sparked further debate in the international scientific community over the potential health hazards to people caused by exposure to the well-known weed killer.
Scientists from King's College London, whose findings were published in the journal, Nature , earlier this month, said their tests used cutting-edge technology to demonstrate that "extremely low doses" of the herbicide administered to rats through their drinking water had caused "non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD)" over a two-year period.
NAFLD can lead to more serious liver disease such as cirrhosis, and increases the risk of other illnesses including diabetes, heart attacks and strokes.
"The study is unique in that it is the first to show a causative link between consumption of Roundup at a real-world environmental dose and a serious disease condition," the report said.
In recent years, there have been an increasing number of studies alleging links between herbicides - used to help grow genetically modified crops - to a wide range of health issues including birth defects, reproductive and neurological problems, cancer, and even DNA damage. Monsanto, the maker of Roundup, has repeatedly denied the accusations , insisting the product is safe for humans. A number of scientists and researchers say there has been insufficient evidence to prove herbicides cause health problems for people.
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(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday January 24 2017, @06:44AM
Be careful with the leaves thing. It is a survival mechanism for the trees. They dump leaves that have a slight amount of acidity and natural poison in them. The tree is literally killing out any competitors that live under the tree. They will kill the your yard. I have holly bushes. NOTHING grows under those. Because the bushes leaves and sap kill everything under them. You need to keep in mind what sort of shrubs and bushes you want to encourage to grow. Not all are friendly to each other. You may be fine. But it is just something to keep in mind.
The city I live in has a leaf recycling thing. They come by and vacuum them up if you have them in a pile at the curb. If you do not have that you can pile them up and compost them. Once composted they can be spread back into the yard. A neighbor I grew up near had a 6-8 ft high 5 ft radius cylinder of cement reinforcing mesh that he would dump them into. Then every couple of years he would turn it over and pull out the stuff from the bottom and spread it evenly into his yard/garden. With special attention to weed areas he wanted to kill off.