pesticides

  • A reddish brown bat hangs upside down while looking upward against a black background.
    bats

    Bat collapse led to higher infant mortality rate

    Researchers have discovered that when insect-eating bats died, farmers increased pesticide use—leading to more than 1,000 infant deaths.
  • A person in a protective suit sprays pesticide on green cabbage in a field.
    pesticides

    Study ties pesticide exposure to stillbirth risk

    "This study underscores the need to develop strategies for mitigating exposure to protect maternal and fetal health."
  • A close-up shot of a termite walking over a piece of wood.
    insects

    ‘Death zone’ limits insecticide power against termite colonies

    "Liquid termiticides have little impact on large subterranean termite colonies. It's a Band-aid."
  • A farmer walks through a green field.
    agriculture

    Organic farms can boost (or lower) pesticides on nearby fields

    Organic farms can have mixed effects on pesticide use. A new study finds that clustering organic fields could offer the most benefit.
  • A father holds his baby.
    sperm

    Dad’s exposure to DDT may harm sperm and future kids

    When dads are exposed to DDT, it can trigger changes to sperm that may raise the risk of birth defects and disease in their future children.
  • barred owl peeks from behind tree
    birds

    Birds of prey show exposure to neurotoxin bromethalin

    A rodenticide, a neurotoxicant called bromethalin, can bioaccumulate in birds of prey, new findings show.
  • microwave
    malaria

    Microwaving insecticide could keep bed nets working

    To make the insecticide deltamethrin more effective for anti-malaria bed nets, researchers are turning to the microwave.
  • ice coffee spilled on pavement with white stripe
    coffee

    How pesticides threaten our daily cup of coffee

    A comprehensive review of research looks at ways to protect coffee plants from pests without the overuse of pesticides.
  • four blue plastic jugs
    agriculture

    Herbicide may be cause of kidney disease epidemic

    New findings indicate the cause of an epidemic of kidney disease in Central America: the herbicide paraquat.
  • purple haze behind grass
    pollution

    Fighting ‘dicamba drift’ can add amines to the air

    An effort to contain "dicamba drift," the movement of the herbicide off crops through the atmosphere—can backfire, research shows.
  • A pregnant woman in a yellow dress stands outside in a field of green grass
    melatonin

    Pesticide exposure in pregnancy may change teen daughters’ sleep

    A woman's exposure to pesticides while pregnant could affect the duration and timing of her adolescent daughters' sleep, a new study shows.
  • blue bee on purple flower
    bees

    Neonic pesticides can harm bees for generations

    Bees exposed to neonicotinoids in both the first and second year had a 72% lower population growth rate compared to bees not exposed at all.