Posted on 07/12/2005 10:22:37 AM PDT by Born Conservative
Do you enjoy eating oysters on a hot sunny afternoon? Make the most of it – it may not last forever. Research has shown that global warming increases the sensitivity of oysters to metal pollution, causing a deadly threat to populations in polluted areas. Dr. Gisela Lannig from the University of North Carolina, USA, will present her work on cadmium poisoning in eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) on Monday 11th July at the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Main Meeting in Barcelona [session C2].
Oysters are cold-blooded organisms so their body temperature changes with environmental temperature. Lannig observed that cadmium levels increased the basic metabolic rate (BMR) of oysters at 20ºC and 24º. For oysters at 28ºC, cadmium did not increase the BMR, but it significantly reduces its chances of survival. "One possible mechanism for this observation is increased damage of mitochondria in cadmium-exposed oysters with increasing temperature", Lannig explains, "these organelles become significantly more sensitive to cadmium as temperature rises, so that cadmium levels which were not damaging to mitochondria at lower temperature become strongly toxic with increasing temperature."
Cadmium circulates continually between air, water and soils. As it moves easily through the food chain, high levels are reported in seals. In humans, cadmium interferes with calcium metabolism and deposition in the bone. Accumulation over time can cause serious illnesses such as itai itai disease. Future research will focus on to what extent cadmium reduces thermal tolerance of cold-blooded species.
From Society for Experimental Biology
I bet global warming is causing this site to be so slow today.
No. It may be an old wives's kind of tale, but I been always been told here in sunny South that oysters are seasonal i.e. safe to eat from September to April. September and some of October may be hot. During the season I am willing to test this bivalve treat for global warming abnormalities. Yeah, Baby, If they are poison I'll die happy.
One must always frequent a trusted source regarding oysters.... Living here in S/E Texas can be a problem for oyster eaters...and I am one that loves them.... Know your monger...
It is not an old wives tale. Oysters should not be eaten in the warm months. It has nothing to do with with 'Global' Warming. The water always warms in the summer and oysters out of that warm water can kill you. I can't remember the name of the organism but it is nothing new. That is why we grew up knowing that you ate oysters in months with a "r" in them. May, June, July, and August have no "r". I won't eat Texas oysters until Nov just to be sure.
It just goes to show that whoever wrote this story dosen't know a damn thing about eating oysters. Anywho, something tells me that this , like many other stories,is made up.
Someone is pushing the global warming theory.
Bush's fault.
Now he's taking away my oysters!
The horror.
/sarc
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