Great-grandparent fish's gift affects generations

摘要

Fish exposed in a laboratory to the endocrine-disrupting chemicals bisphenol A (BPA) or 17a-ethinylestradiol (EE2) have been found to pass adverse reproductive effects onto their offspring up to three generations later - even if those offspring are not exposed directly, according to a new study. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and University of Missouri scientists exposed fish to either BPA or EE2 for 1 week during embryonic development. Future generations, which were never exposed to the chemical directly, showed a reduced rate of fertilization and increased embryo mortality. The full study, published in the journal Scientific Reports.