(Beyond Pesticides, September 12, 2025) A team of Argentinian researchers conducted a study published in Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology of the combined effects of the herbicide glyphosate and the pyrethroid insecticide cypermethrin. The researchers observed significantly higher apoptosis in cells exposed to the mixtures than to the individual pesticides—a synergistic response. Apoptosis, also known as programmed cell death, is a standard way that tissues handle damaged cells to remove threats to their function. The researchers sought to investigate the cellular toxicity of each chemical, individually and in combination, and assessed whether the effects of the mixture were additive or synergistic. Additive effects occur when two individual chemicals amplify the same sort of response, often because the chemicals have similar structures. Synergism can occur when chemicals have different mechanisms of action but work together to create more powerful effects. Mixtures of pesticides are the least-studied area of research conducted for regulatory purposes. While regulators provide instructions to applicators regarding which pesticides can be applied together and combined in tank mixtures, there is no control over how pesticides travel through the environment once applied, as they flow through the air as spray drift, lodge in soils and water, and are incorporated into […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 8, 2025) Beyond Pesticides today called on Congress to require the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to incorporate real world science into its evaluation of pesticide safety calculations by recognizing that daily exposure involves multiple chemicals and synergistic interactions— a magnified effect greater than the individual chemical effects added together. The organization cites numerous scientific studies that call public attention to this issue; that a realistic assessment of the human and environmental harm potentially caused by pesticides cannot be evaluated based on single-chemical, single-species tests. Given the numerous complexities associated with this type of assessment, the group points to organic land management in agriculture and residential areas as a more cost-effective approach, sending this message to Congress: EPA must consider the effects of pesticides in the context in which they are used and with reference to the organic alternative. A recent study, covered by Beyond Pesticides in its Daily News, found that the presence of Varroa mites in combination with the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid increases the risk of bee mortality and disrupts the larval gut microbiome. The study found synergy (a greater combined effect) between Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees, and imidacloprid. The findings were published last […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 4, 2025) A review of agricultural neonicotinoid insecticide regulations, published in Pest Management Science, evaluates the varied approaches being taken for bans and exemption-based restrictions in the European Union (EU), Canada, and the United States (U.S.). Despite an ever-growing and overwhelming body of science linking neonicotinoids (neonics) to adverse effects on pollinators and other nontarget species, the regulations fall short in protecting the environment and wildlife. The review, with the history and current status of neonics, lends further support for a full transition to organic agriculture and land management that removes neonicotinoid exposure routes and subsequent health threats. With the application of this widely used class of neurotoxic system insecticides increasing, so too has the concern over the long-term chronic effects on pollinators and other species from exposure. This concern, backed by scientific literature, has “led to increased governmental regulations since the mid-2010s, particularly in agricultural settings,” state the authors from Iowa State University and Washington State University. They continue, “These regulations have varied in terms of approach, geography, and timeline, starting with a ban implemented by the European Union (EU) and evolving into exemption-based regulations across two Canadian provinces and five U.S. states as of this […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 3, 2025) A study in Environmental Entomology shows that habitat and open space near agricultural fields become a killing field of pesticides, threatening biodiversity due to contamination from toxic drift. The study detected 42 pesticides, including several neonicotinoids, which are among the most lethal threats to pollinators. The research reveals the complexity of pesticide flow through the environment and the inadequacy of current methods of protecting nontarget organisms, including honey bees, bumblebees, and hundreds of other species of native bees worldwide. Their catastrophic declines is tied to pesticides in large part and highlights the inadequacy of current pesticide reduction strategies, such as integrated pest management (IPM) and now other loosely defined concepts like “regenerative,” in an attempt to protect the environment and nontarget organisms in chemical-dependent land management and agriculture. (See What the Science Shows on Biodiversity.) The researchers on the study, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cornell University and Michigan State University, put silicone bands on fence posts in open areas adjacent to highbush blueberry fields on 15 farms in western Michigan. Silicone takes up chemicals in the atmosphere which can then be extracted and analyzed. The fence posts were placed at seven intervals ranging […]

(Beyond Pesticides, September 2, 2025) It did not go without notice to U.S. grassroots environmental and public health advocates that earlier this month, over two million people in France signed a “first of its kind” petition that ultimately prevented the overturning of the country’s ban on bee-killing neonicotinoid insecticides. The action was widely covered in France, including in Le Monde. This uprising, organized by 23-year-old French master’s student Eleonore Pattery, emphasizes the importance of individuals in communities mobilizing people to protect the planet from pesticides that are having a devastating adverse effect on health and the environment. The grassroots push in France taps into a deep public concern about health and the environment that is emblematic of the level of public engagement needed to thwart the high level of chemical industry, agribusiness, and allied corporate influence that undermines basic protections. Industry interests have long been embedded in federal environmental and public health laws. For example, federal and state pesticide laws (the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act and similar state laws) allow widespread exposure to toxic chemicals despite the availability of nontoxic alternatives that are both efficacious and cost-effective. Without public engagement, as seen in France, significant improvements in law are constantly […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 21, 2025) The presence of Varroa mites in combination with the neonicotinoid insecticide imidacloprid increases the risk of bee mortality and disrupts the larval gut microbiome, according to a study of the synergy (a greater combined effect) between Varroa destructor, a parasitic mite that attacks and feeds on honey bees, and imidacloprid. The study in Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology adds to the growing body of science on the severely declining bee population by investigating the toxic effects of both the parasites and pesticide stressors in honey bees (Apis mellifera). “Given that V. destructor may increase bees’ sensitivity to imidacloprid by compromising their physiological health and immunity, this study systematically assesses the effects of V. destructor infestation and imidacloprid exposure on honey bee survival, detoxification enzyme activity, and gut microbiota,” the authors explain. The intestinal tract and gut microbiome are crucial for digestion, metabolism, nutrient absorption, immune regulation, and pathogen defense. Within honey bees, the gut microbiome is “highly susceptible to external environmental stressors, such as pesticide exposure and parasitic infections [and] these disturbances can lead to microbial imbalances, ultimately affecting bee health.” (See studies here and here.) Previous research earlier this year, captured in Daily News Variability […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 19, 2025) A new study from Argentina highlights the importance of applying the concept of the exposome (total exposures over lifetime) as a scientific framework, the value of biomonitoring, and findings of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The study documents the presence and effects of pesticides on maternal and fetal health during pregnancy. The results show that pregnant Argentine women are exposed to dozens of pesticides, and that certain mixtures of these chemicals are associated with harm to pregnancy outcomes, especially among rural women. The exposome, the authors write, comprises the “non-genetic factors that may be involved in the development or aggravation of human disease. The prenatal exposome includes all environmental chemicals that the mother is exposed to during pregnancy (maternal exposome) and those chemicals that reach the placenta and fetus from the maternal circulation (fetal exposome).” The authors emphasize that understanding the exposome almost by definition requires studying mixtures of environmental chemicals rather than analyzing the effects of each in isolation. The second important aspect of the study is its use of biomonitoring. The researchers analyzed urine samples from 90 pregnant women in various gestational stages from rural and urban regions of Argentina. The researchers also collected demographic […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 15, 2025) In analyzing the data present in an article in Data in Brief, concerning levels of pesticide biomarkers are present in the urine of adolescents and young adults that are linked to numerous health implications. The biomonitoring data, collected at two time points from participants in a longitudinal cohort study in the agricultural county of Pedro Moncayo, Ecuador, encompasses a total of 23 compounds used as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides and their associated metabolites (breakdown products), which include organophosphates, pyrethroids, and neonicotinoids. The results highlight the disproportionate risks to a Latin American population that occur as a result of living in areas with heavy chemical-intensive agriculture. “This article presents urinary pesticide metabolite concentrations for 665 participants in the ‘Study of Secondary Exposure to Pesticides among Children, Adolescents, and Adults’ (ESPINA), which were collected during two follow-up assessments,” the authors describe. The first sampling period from July to October 2016, referred to as Follow-up Year [FUY]-8b, includes 529 of the participants, while the second sampling period from July to September 2022 (FUY-14a) includes 505 of the participants. All participants are within the agricultural community of Pedro Moncayo. As the authors note, “The ESPINA study aimed to include […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 14, 2025) A review in Clinical and Experimental Obstetrics & Gynecology links various classes of environmental pollutants including pesticides and per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), both of which Beyond Pesticides has extensively covered, to adverse effects on the female reproductive system and common mechanisms of toxicity. These chemicals “disrupt the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG), impair ovarian function, and contribute to reproductive dysfunction through mechanisms such as oxidative stress, hormonal disruption, and epigenetic [gene expression or behavior] modifications,” the authors say. This leads to menstrual irregularities, infertility, and pregnancy complications, as well as increases in the risk of reproductive system disorders such as endometriosis, polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and ovarian cancer, among others. “Additionally, transgenerational effects mediated by epigenetic modifications, germ cell damage, and placental transfer may adversely affect offspring health, increasing the risk of reproductive dysfunction, neurodevelopmental disorders, metabolic diseases, and cancer,” the researchers explain. This study, integrating recent epidemiological and experimental findings, provides an overview of major chemical classes that threaten women’s health and highlights the need for immediate action. As the authors point out, female reproductive health is important not only for those who choose to plan for a family but also for the overall well-being […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 6, 2025) A study published in Science of The Total Environment finds that “chronic pesticide exposure alters metabolism and impairs fish growth and health.” With increasing concern about the long-term consequences of pesticide persistence in ecosystems, the scientific literature continues to expand the body of research findings on adverse effects, including impacts on marine or aquatic ecosystems and organisms. Given the known and growing risks, there is an ongoing movement to move beyond petrochemical-based chemicals for agriculture and land management by adopting policies and programs that advance organic criteria and principles, as outlined in national organic law and practiced by tens of thousands of certified farmers and land managers across the country, and even more at the international level. Background and Methodology “The objective of this study was to assess the physiological responses of juvenile P. lineatus exposed to environmentally relevant pesticide mixtures by integrating multiple biological endpoints across sub-individual and organismal levels,” the authors write. The study was conducted at two sites in the Tibagi River watershed located in Paraná, a southern region in Brazil. There was a reference site (RFS) and an agricultural site (AGS), the former having minimal pesticide contamination and the latter having […]

(Beyond Pesticides, August 1, 2025) On June 30, Kyle Kunkler started work as deputy assistant administrator for pesticides in U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Office of Chemical Safety and Pollution Prevention. Mr. Kunkler is an experienced agribusiness lobbyist, having come directly from the American Soybean Association, where he was director of government affairs. He joins Nancy Beck, PhD, herself a migrant from the American Chemistry Council. Not coincidentally, a mere three weeks after Mr. Kunkler’s appointment, EPA opened the floodgates to allow use of the controversial herbicide dicamba to flow unrestricted once again through the nation’s ecosystems. Dicamba has been associated with phytotoxic crop/plant damage (leaf damage, stunted growth, or death) and cancer. Three formulations of the herbicide whose registrations had been vacated via litigation will be reinstated by EPA after a public comment period that expires on August 22 at 11:59 PM EDT. Dicamba is manifestly one of the worst ideas the pesticide industry has ever devised, according to many farmers and pesticide safety advocates. Because of resistance to other herbicides, pesticide scientists developed the “[insert pesticide]-ready” concept in which a crop plant is genetically engineered to resist exposure to a herbicide, “Roundup-Ready” seeds being the most obvious example, so […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 31, 2025) A study published in Environmental Advances finds that hundreds of honeybee hives across central and northern Italy are contaminated with various pesticides and their metabolites, including glyphosate and fosetyl.  “There was no significant difference in glyphosate presence between dead/dying and live bees, suggesting chronic exposure rather than acute toxicity. However, higher pesticide concentrations in dead/dying bees indicate potential sublethal effects contributing to colony distress,” according to the authors. This peer-reviewed study builds on the mounting evidence outlined in the literature connecting pesticide residues to nontarget harm to pollinators and other insects and animals that are critical to biodiversity. Background and Methodology “The primary objectives of this study were to develop and validate a reliable, sensitive method for analyzing polar pesticides [highly soluble in water] in honeybees and to investigate polar pesticides residue levels in honeybees across northern and central Italy,” say the researchers of this study, who conduct research at the Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lombardy and Emilia Romagna “Bruno Ubertini”, Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Umbria and Marche “Togo Rosati”, and Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute of Lazio and Tuscany “M. Aleandri.” 314 honeybee samples were gathered voluntarily from local beekeepers in six regions of northern and […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 29, 2025) Are neurological diseases increasing around the world? Yes and no, according to a report published by The Lancet in 2024 on the global burden of nervous system diseases between 1990 and 2021. About 3 billion—a third of the world’s people—suffer from some nervous system condition. These diseases cause 11 million deaths and 443 million disability-adjusted life years (DALYs), which are a measure of the years lost to illness, disability, or early death. Neurological disorders are now the world’s largest source of disability. The Lancet report does not include an analysis of the role of pesticides in the burden of neurological disease worldwide, although environmental health research continues to expand the evidence that pesticide exposure is a major contributor to that burden. The Lancet report indicates that DALYs from Parkinson’s disease have increased by 10 percent, and autism spectrum disorder and dementia by 2 percent each. Multiple sclerosis has declined by 11 percent, according to the report. Importantly, most of the improvement has come from medical interventions, not prevention—in other words, people are living longer with the diseases rather than avoiding them altogether. But this is not true globally: The burden of disease, and particularly premature death, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 17, 2025) The widespread use of pesticides year-after-year, decade-after-decade, has been found to lead to unintended consequences not only for public health but also for broader ecosystem stability and biodiversity. These impacts include potential nontarget harm through adverse developmental and reproductive effects on the vinegar fly, Drosophila melanogaster, the subject of a peer-reviewed study in Royal Society Open Science. The authors, who studied the organochlorine fungicide chlorothalonil, conclude, “Chlorothalonil exposure decreases larval survival, extends developmental duration and reduces fecundity.” “Even at the lowest tested concentration, chlorothalonil exposure resulted in reduced body weight, ovariole count and egg production compared with non-exposed individuals,” the researchers find. This study builds upon years of scientific research findings and critiques of existing federal pesticide law, as well as the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) failure to fully assess the adverse impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem stability during the pesticide registration review process. Methodology and Background The goal of this study is to evaluate the health impacts on a nontarget insect species (Drosophila melanogaster) from chronic exposure to chlorothalonil. This specific fungicide was chosen for various reasons, including its wide use across cereals, vegetables, and fruits; evidence linked to adverse health effects on […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 15, 2025) A study published in Environmental Science and Technology finds that there are 47 current-use pesticides—products with active ingredients that are currently registered with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) —detected in samples of indoor dust, drinking water, and urine from households in Indiana. This study builds on existing scientific literature documenting the public health threat of nonoccupational, indoor pesticide exposure. (See previous Daily News here, here, and here.) The study is a reminder that pesticides move into the indoor environment through the air, and on clothing, making exposure more widespread than the assumptions used in regulatory reviews. Background and Methodology “In this study, we collected matched samples of indoor dust, drinking water, and urine from 81 households in Indiana, United States, and analyzed these samples for 82 CUPs [current use pesticides], including 48 insecticides, 25 herbicides, and 9 fungicides,” say the authors. They continue: “Of these, 47 CUPs were identified across samples of indoor dust, drinking water, and urine with median total CUP (∑CUP) concentrations of 18 300 ng/g, 101 ng/L, and 2.93 ng/mL, respectively.” The herbicides (13) detected include 2,4-D (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), Alachlor, Atrazine, CIAT (Desethyl-atrazine), Diuron, Metolachlor, Metolachlor OA (Oxanilic acid), OIAT (2-Hydroxy-4-isopropylamino-6-amino-s-triazine), OIET […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 11, 2025) Pesticides and antibiotics are linked inextricably in the looming crisis of human and ecosystem health. Both started out as quasi-miraculous solutions to age-old human problems, yet it has been clear that the failures of each present severe challenges—and that they are synergistic because they trigger the same kinds of defensive mechanisms in their targets: insects, fungi, and weeds on the one hand, and microbes on the other. A review of contamination of waterways in India with pesticides and antibiotics, published in Environmental and Geochemical Health, recounts the many threats that arise when these chemicals mix and how their presence in water makes the problems much worse.    Globally, about five million people died in 2019 from infections with antibiotic-resistant microbes. By 2050, according to a World Bank estimate, antibiotic resistance could add $1 trillion to global health care costs and subtract $3.4 trillion from annual global gross domestic product. While the world slowly realizes the urgent need to counter antibiotic resistance, the role of pesticides in generating it has received less political and public attention. But there is no doubt that pesticides are strongly implicated. In fact, the resistance of microbes to antibiotics is no […]

(Beyond Pesticides, July 1, 2025) Published in Water Research, a study highlights the various routes for pesticide contamination, with the results identifying the presence of over 80 substances in streams without adjacent agricultural land use. “Our findings underscore the necessity of further investigating the non-agricultural entry pathways of pesticides and biocides to effectively mitigate their impacts on streams in non-agricultural catchments,” the authors state. They continue, “These streams often serve as critical refuge habitats and sources of recolonization, making their protection essential for biodiversity conservation.” In analyzing nonagricultural streams, the researchers find pesticide contamination that, while lower than levels found in streams directly next to agricultural land, can occur through various routes and threatens biodiversity in essential ecosystems. As the authors describe: “Although pesticide concentrations were lower than in agricultural streams, the potential toxicity of pesticides was associated with a significant reduction in sensitive insect populations, as indicated by the SPEARpesticides index. Notably, 40% of the studied streams did not achieve a good status according to the pesticide specific SPEARpesticides indicator.” The SPEARpesticides indicator is used “to identify pesticide effects on the aquatic invertebrate community. It measures the abundance of pesticide-sensitive species (“species at risk”) in relation to the abundance […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 24, 2025) As changes in the executive branch of the federal government upend expectations among environmental stakeholders, the regulation of food safety in the United States is being revealed as a rickety structure built over a century with unpredictable and sometimes contradictory additions, extensions, remodels, and tear-downs. In the short term, clarity is unavailable, but there have been calls for revision and strengthening of regulatory processes—requiring lawmaker and regulator willingness to incorporate the vast body of evidence that pesticides do far more harm than good, and that organic regenerative agriculture is the surest path to human and ecological health. News reports out of Costa Rica in May brought public attention to drafted legislation to ban pesticides in the country that the World Health Organization (WHO) has defined as “extremely or highly hazardous, or those with evidence of causing cancer, genetic mutations, or affecting reproduction, according to the Globally Harmonized System (GHS).” The headline sparked a relook in this Daily News at the current and historical failure of U.S. policy, which allows cancer-causing pesticides in food production and land management, despite the booming success of a cost-effective and productive, certified organic sector for which petrochemical pesticides are not […]

Image: Art Page submission from Sara Grantham, “Pollen Song.” (Beyond Pesticides, June 20, 2025) A study in Conservation Genetics, entitled “Organic farming fosters arthropod diversity of specific insect guilds – evidence from metabarcoding,” showcases the negative effect of chemical-intensive, conventional farm management on insect populations when compared to organically managed meadows. The researchers find that the diversity and biomass of flying insects are higher with organic land management by 11% and 75%, respectively. “We report a higher diversity on organic meadows in comparison with conventional ones, all over the diversity of flying insects and not only based solely on a few species-poor groups as in previous studies,” the authors state. They continue: “We found significant richness differences between management types and increased functionality on organic meadows. Our results imply the superiority of organic farming in comparison to conventional farming in the conservation of insect diversity.” The topic of insect biodiversity and the decline of insect populations over the last few decades, also referred to as the insect apocalypse, has been extensively covered by Beyond Pesticides. As previously reported in the Daily News, “Continued Decline in Insect Species Biodiversity with Agricultural Pesticide Use Documented,” insects provide many important services, such as […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 18, 2025) A major artificial turf manufacturer’s effort to block a webinar about the hazards of synthetic turf has triggered a multi-million-dollar lawsuit against it. That suit, filed in Nassau County, New York, accuses the Polyloom Corporation of America of having engaged in an illegal Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP) for trying to block the turf webinar by the non-profit Grassroots Environmental Education, featuring a presentation by a scientist from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).  The webinar, slated for January 23, 2025, entitled “The Trouble with Turf,” was intended to discuss potential adverse health risks of artificial turf, including the fact that most artificial grass blades contain toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS).  The session and material did not mention Polyloom Corporation, which self-describes as “one of the largest designers, producers, recyclers, manufacturers and installers of artificial turf in the United States.”  Three days before the webinar, Polyloom filed both a complaint and an application for a Temporary Restraining Order, preliminary injunction, and monetary damages against Grassroots, the webinar sponsor, and all the individuals slated to speak in it who were sued in their individual capacities.  Polyloom’s action was filed in the U.S. District Court for […]

***Featured Art Page submissions for National Pollinator Week, highlighted with the gratitude of Beyond Pesticides: Jesse from Livermore, CA: “Honeybee Pollinating Citrus Blossom”; Yumi from New York, NY: “Birds and the Bees”; Gretchen from Helena, MT: “Butterflies”; Janet from Concord, MA: “Beneath the Big Dipper”; and Trix from Petersburg, NY: “Downy Woodpecker.” (Beyond Pesticides, June 16, 2025) Every year, Beyond Pesticides announces National Pollinator Week to remind eaters of food, gardeners, farmers, communities (including park districts to school districts), civic organizations, responsible corporations, policy makers, and legislators that there are actions that can be taken that are transformative. All the opportunities for action to protect pollinators, and the ecosystems that are critical to their survival, can collectively be transformational in eliminating toxic pesticides that are major contributors to the collapse of biodiversity. This is why Beyond Pesticides starts most discussions and strategic actions for meaningful pollinator and biodiversity protection with the transition to practicing and supporting organic.  In launching National Pollinator Week, Beyond Pesticides makes suggestions for individual actions to increase efforts to think and act holistically to protect the environment that supports pollinators. The impact that people have starts with grocery store purchases and the management of gardens, parks, […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 13, 2025) A report highlights the ongoing stress to the Chesapeake Bay Watershed from pollutants, particularly pesticides. The Chesapeake Bay is the largest estuary in the contiguous United States, with tributaries shared among six states and the District of Columbia. It receives runoff from nine major river systems traversing a wide mix of land uses, with significant agricultural and urban areas nearest the Bay and forest along the western boundary. Nearly 13 million people get their drinking water from the watershed. The watershed report by the Maryland Pesticide Education Network focuses primarily on the herbicide atrazine, the neonicotinoid insecticide thiamethoxam, and per- and polyfluorinated compounds (PFAS). Atrazine needs little introduction, being notorious for disrupting hormones, particularly estrogen, as demonstrated by the pioneering work of Tyrone Hayes and more recent research analyzed by Beyond Pesticides here, here and here. In male fish, it can trigger production of egg proteins, especially vitellogenin, and development of eggs in their testicles. These are manifestations of intersex, in which an organism shows forms of sexual differentiation of both sexes. The Chesapeake watershed report notes that atrazine and metolachlor (also an estrogen/androgen disruptor and suspected human carcinogen) occur together frequently in the Chesapeake […]

(Beyond Pesticides, June 11, 2025) Researchers developed a novel tool* in a recent study published in Nature Communications this year that successfully creates a map of the “pesticide-gut microbiota-metabolite network,” identifying “significant alterations in gut bacteria metabolism.” While the study authors acknowledge that this is not a complete map, since they selected specific pesticides and bacterial partners, the research adds to the body of peer-reviewed scientific literature that underscores the relationship between pesticide residues and human gut health. Organic farmers, as well as any land steward invested in agroecological practices and soil health, understand that microbial life (both in the body and in the soil) is dangerously undermined by the status quo of chemical-intensive land management. Background and Methodology The researchers leverage mass spectrometry to test metabolite (metabolomics) and lipid (lipidomics) relationships with pesticide residues, as well as an in vivo mouse model. *The map itself is a form of computational biology, which advocates have warned could be a false solution if not accompanied by other proven scientific methods. See here for analysis by the Natural Resources Defense Council on risks of unproven methods such as New Approach Methodologies [NAMs]. All major phylogenetic (“evolutionary relationships among biological entities”) groups are […]