Posted on 02/19/2021 10:12:57 AM PST by Red Badger
Researchers exposed guppies to amounts of Prozac found near sewage plants
Guppies are usually complex creatures with diverse behavior patterns
The drugged fish did 'not have their individuality anymore'
For fish to survive threats in the wild, members of a group need to behave differently from each other
Most sewage filtration plants don't test for pharmaceuticals
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Prozac that finds its way into waterways could be wiping out fish's personality, according to a new study out of Australia.
More than 250 million antidepressant prescriptions are filled in the US every year, including 20 million for Prozac, known generically as fluoxetine.
Traces of the drug typically get into the water when people go to the bathroom, since sewage treatment plants typically don't filter them out.
Guppies exposed to levels of fluoxetine found in waterways near sewage plants exhibited 'an enormous drop' in variability, and all displaying similar behavioral traits.
'For fish populations to thrive in the face of environmental change, members of a group need to behave differently from each other,' they said.
'If a fish makes the wrong decision and dies, some others will survive by taking different actions.'
Because they're so ubiquitous, antidepressants are the most-documented drugs contaminating waterways.
Numerous studies have examined the effects of antidepressants, specifically fluoxetine, on all kinds of wildlife, from shrimp to starlings.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
Say, that’s a good lookin’ perch there! But no personality whatsoever.
Well, he’s been feeling kinda down lately.............
Does all this extra estrogen from the pill and the water supply explain why so many women have become raving -itches?
You should know that the brains are the tastiest!
Good. Now maybe they can do humans.
These crap ass drugs are making folks everywhere stoopid.
Oh no wait, that would be public edumacation.
Not my water. It comes from 600 ft under the ground.
I think the moral of the story is to drink pee and be happy.
And it think the average women is on them for 35 years.
Pharmaceuticals are emitted from our bodies, homes, and factories, entering waterways and accumulating in fish, bugs, mollusks, crustaceans, birds, and warm-blooded animals. Areas around drug-manufacturing plants are hot spots for this kind of pollution. So too are watercourses near hospitals and aging sewage infrastructure. But medicinal compounds have also been detected in remote environments, imbuing surface waters even in Antarctica.
Waterways can contain traces of many drugs—among them antifungals, antimicrobials, and antibacterials, as well as ones for pain, fertility, mood, sleeplessness, and neurodegenerative diseases. If current trends persist, scientists estimate, the volume of pharmaceuticals diffusing into fresh water could increase by two-thirds by 2050. Recent modeling shows that a platypus living in a contaminated stream in Melbourne is already likely to ingest more than half a recommended adult dose of antidepressants every day. More https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2019/05/pharmaceutical-pollution/586006/
One of the ways drugs get into our water supply is that people are flushing their unused prescriptions down the toilet. While water from sewage is filtered and chlorinated, the drugs remain in the water. The particulate is too fine to be caught in any city sewer filtration system. But, if you test the water, there they are. Anything from epilepsy drugs, to antibiotics, to diabetes drugs, to antidepressants are found in our water supply.
The less obvious way that pharmaceuticals enter the water supply is that patients who take drugs cannot metabolize the whole pill. So about 25% of that drug is flushed down the toilet
A study done in a Colorado river found that estrogen-containing drugs in the water are turning male fish into female fish. The Associated Press’ National Investigative Team ran their own tests and found pharmaceuticals in the drinking water of 41 million Americans. Philadelphia alone tested positive for 56 different drugs in their water supply. https://www.focusforhealth.org/drinking-prescription-drugs-tap-water/
A nationwide study conducted by the U.S. Geological Survey in 1999 and 2000 found low levels of pharmaceuticals—including antibiotics, hormones, contraceptives and steroids—in 80 percent of the rivers and streams sampled. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pharmaceuticals-in-the-water/
Many of the more than 4,000 prescription medications used for human and animal health ultimately find their way into the environment. They can pollute directly from pharmaceutical manufacturing plants or from humans and animals. As these chemicals make their way into terrestrial and aquatic environments, they can affect the health and behavior of wildlife, including insects, fish, birds, and more. https://www.usgs.gov/special-topic/water-science-school/science/pharmaceuticals-water?qt-science_center_objects=0#qt-science_center_objects
Better change the first word to Patriot, otherwise you think they are Pariot
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