English

Neonicotinoids are considered safe because of their low affinities to mammalian nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) relative to insect nAChRs. However, because of importance of nAChRs in mammalian brain development, there remains a need to establish the safety of chronic neonicotinoid exposures with regards to children’s health. Here we examined the effects of long-term (14 days) and low dose (1 μM) exposure of neuron-enriched cultures from neonatal rat cerebellum to nicotine and two neonicotinoids: acetamiprid and imidacloprid.

After the two-year moratorium on three types of neonicotinoid pesticides, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) this month issued an unfavourable opinion on two of the chemicals, for uses that are still authorised. Following EFSA’s conclusions confirming the toxicity of neonicotinoids for pollinators, the European Commission issued a moratorium on three chemicals: clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam. This moratorium expired in December 2015 and is currently being reviewed at European level. But the scope of the suspension was narrow.

Imidacloprid (IMD), a neonicotinoid insecticide, is the most widely used insecticide on the planet. The purpose of this study was to examine the behavioural and biochemical effects of chronic in utero and early postnatal IMD exposure. Our treatment regimen entailed chronic exposure whereby pregnant mice were infused with 0.5 mg/kg/day of IMD via a subcutaneous osmotic mini-pump from gestational day 3 to postnatal day 21.

In the early 20th century, tens of thousands of Ruddy-headed Geese crowded the deserts of Patagonia. Today, they have become a rare sight. However, they still inhabit the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) in large numbers and some argue that these island-dwellers could be the key to one day repopulating the continental. However, in a blow for the future of this species, a new study reveals reintroduction might not be possible.

Health Canada is proposing a ban on almost all uses of a controversial neonicotinoid pesticide called imidacloprid, saying it is seeping into Canadian waterways at levels that can harm insects and the ecosystem. Neonicotinoid pesticides, the most widely used class of insecticides in the world, have faced increasing restrictions because of the risk they pose to bees, but have been allowed in Canada for agricultural and cosmetic purposes. Today, Health Canada released its draft risk assessment for imidacloprid for public comment.

Many of Connecticut's native birds "are suffering slow, steady population declines" and at least one species appears headed for extinction, according to a new report released Monday by the Connecticut Audubon Society. Avian experts are forecasting that the Saltmarsh Sparrow is facing "likely extinction" during next half century. Blue-winged warblers, Brown Thrashers, Fields Sparrows, Clapper Rails and other species are losing an estimated 5 percent of their Connecticut populations each year, the report warned.

A new report from the New Zealand government found that 90 percent of the country’s 92 seabird species—the highest concentration of seabirds on the planet—are threatened with extinction. Among the most threatened species are the Antipodean albatross (Diomedea antipodensis), the eastern rockhopper penguin (Eudyptes chrysocome filholi), the Pitt Island shag (Phalacrocorax featherstoni), and the New Zealand fairy tern (Sternula nereis davisae). Despite being legally protected in New Zealand, many of these species have falling populations.

The Black-tailed Godwit was once a common sight in Dutch meadows. The bird used to flourish in the peat soil habitats in the western part of the Netherlands. Invertebrates profited from enrichment of the soil with manure and fertilisers and earthworms (Lumbricidae), leatherjackets (Tipulidae), snails and other species were abundant. The combination of abundant food, at least for adult birds, and the soft peat soil (which is easily penetrated by the long bill of the Black-tailed Godwit) made the western part of the Netherlands a prime breeding habitat for the Black-tailed Godwit.

Large parts of Ireland's environment is in a worse state today than 20 years ago, a major report from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says. Bird species, including the corncrake and the curlew, are almost extinct. There has been a "dramatic reduction" in the number of pristine rivers with high water quality. Report co-editor Dr Jonathan Dernham said there was a need for integrated policies to protect the environment.

Scientists call them critical to our environment. They’re a natural form of pest control, consuming millions of insects every night. But across the country, bats are now fighting for survival, as a fungus threatens to cut their numbers. White Nose Syndrome is a fungus that attaches to bats during hibernation. In the past 4 years, it’s killed millions of bats in the eastern and central parts of the country. This year, for the first time, the disease was found on the west coast. “It hasn't been detected in Nevada. It's been detected in Washington state this past April.