this post was submitted on 12 Apr 2024
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[–] ikidd 0 points 7 months ago (1 children)

So I can't see in that study where they correlate actual field concentrations to what they're applying to the test insects. From what I can tell, they're using very high concentrations and observing reduced melanization. Interestingly, in lower concentrations, there's a tendency for the mosquitos to develop a better response to the infection, presumably because the survivors are less susceptible.

Further, while the 10 mM-treated mosquitoes had the worst survival outcome, the mosquitoes that survived the drugging showed low susceptibility to P. falciparum infection. These observations suggest a potentially interesting effect whereby very high concentrations of glyphosate reduce mosquito survival, but bolster the immune system or general physiology of survivors, which then allows them to resist P. falciparum infection with greater success. Alternatively, very high glyphosate treatment could be selecting for mosquitoes within the population more resistant to P. falciparum infection.

What you normally see in these studies is that they have to directly apply concentrations much, much higher than found in the field to develop a response. The runoff levels are tested to be in the nM range, but they're applying 10-50 mM to each insect directly injected. Even if they're in the field and encountering mM concentrations as applied, contact with an insect probably isn't going to transfer much to the bloodstream as there's no direct transfer pathway for animals.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 7 months ago (1 children)

The runoff levels are tested to be in the nM range, but they’re applying 10-50 mM to each insect directly injected. Even if they’re in the field and encountering mM concentrations as applied, contact with an insect probably isn’t going to transfer much to the bloodstream as there’s no direct transfer pathway for animals.

wouldn't the primary technicality here be exposure time? Rather than exposure levels. Ultimately depends on the lifespan of the insect itself. But this is a pretty significant factor to why things like leaded gas got banned.

[–] ikidd 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

Presumably. Also would be determining a pathway that gets those low concentrations through to the organism in levels high enough to induce the effects that they've determined with artificial exposures. But that's not even hinted at in the study, and that's usually where these studies fail.

I can introduce high levels of NaCl to a cell and kill it, but without finding a way that dunking someone in seawater kills them via mere exposure, saying the ocean is hazardous is a bit of a stretch.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 7 months ago

but without finding a way that dunking someone in seawater kills them via mere exposure

uhm, drowning, hypothermia, being stranded in the middle of it. I can think of a few.