Tuna heart attacks! So that new report shows that deep sea fish in the gulf have been
seriously affected by that BP oil spill
http://ecowatch.com/2014/02/19/tuna-suffer-heart-attacks-bp-oil-spill/
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Now scientists from Stanford University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), have discovered that the crude oil interferes with fish heart cells, preventing them from beating effectively and leading to a reduced heart rate. This can lead to heart attacks and death, they argue writing in the journal Science.
Although scientists have known that components of crude oil, such as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons” (PAHs) are toxic to fish, especially hearts of fish embryos and larvae, they did not understand the mechanisms of how the damage was caused.
“We’ve known from NOAA research over the past two decades that crude oil is toxic to the developing hearts of fish embryos and larvae, but haven’t understood precisely why,” said co-author of the study Nat Scholz, leader of the Ecotoxicology Program at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle.
The researchers found that crude oil interferes with cardiac cell contraction and relaxation, which are vital processes for normal a heartbeat. The study concluded that “results lead us to believe that PAH cardiotoxicity was potentially a common form of injury among a broad range of species during and after the [Deepwater Horizon] oil spill.”
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Fuck BP!
= new reply since forum marked as read
