Summary...A French biotechnology company created a transgenic tadpole that fluoresces when it encounters chemical contaminants in water that disrupt thyroid functioning. This helps highlight and toxic chemical or mixture that disrupts a key organ or life system. Regulators are concerned because growing evidence shows that some synthetic
chemicals including those found in in insecticides, herbicides, fumigants, fungicides, detergents, resins and plasticizers may disrupt the body’s endocrine system, which controls many important functions by emitting hormones, or natural chemical messengers. Chemicals can scramble the signal by mimicking hormones, blocking their receptors or altering hormonal levels. Barbara Demeneix combined a gene for a jellyfish protein that fluoresces green, with the presence of thyroid hormones the DNA sequence will turn green. When transgenic fish encounter a chemical that prevents them from producing eggs or from changing sex, they light up. |
Reflection...I chose this article because first off Mrs. Ogo recommended this article to do for scrAPES but also I found it very interesting. It is interesting because scientists can be able to detect anything harmful in an environment with vulnerable species. And once detected the toxin can be caught and prevented in the near future. But the experiments are really expensive to run but I think it would be worth it because it can help save species and vulnerable environments from pollutants.
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