Toxicologist Pioneers New Research Method
Robert Tanguay, in Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, has pioneered the use of zebrafish to test the effects of commerical chemicals on biological development, on account of the minnows’ rapid growth rate. He is part of one of the largest toxicology studies ever conducted on living organisms, screening 1,060 different compounds for 22 possible effects, using zebrafish.
Toxicologist Designs Wristband Sampling Device
OSU toxicologist Kim Anderson has designed a wristband sensor that passively abosrbs chemicals in air and water, which can late be analyzed in a lab for over 1200 chemicals. Her team of researchers has also been working in Ohio with larger-scale environmental monitors to measure the impact fracking might have on air quality. Anderson has used these passive samplers with farmers in Africa and in the Gulf of Mexico where the effects of the 2010 oil spill continue to percolate through the environment.
Two years of IPM implementation and pesticide risk management in the Clackamas watershed have resulted in reduced pesticide residues in surface waters. Led by Dr. Paul Jepson, OSU forged unique partnerships in which regulatory agencies worked with farmers and other stakeholders who shared a common interest in both water quality and economic development. The establishment of these complex partnerships and their sophisticated participatory process characterizes the new face of Extension. This program represents one of a series of similar engagements in Oregon, all of which have ultimately been associated with reduced pesticide residues in surface waters. The weight of evidence that OSU programs contribute to these reductions is compelling, but everyone should note that these are not formal experiments that enable us to identify causal associations.
