Young salmon are more likely to carry out what are deemed as risk-taking behaviours, such as separating from the shoal, when exposed to levels of an anti-anxiety drug similar to those found in waterways because of pollution, research indicates.
Involving a drug called clobazam, which pollutes many rivers, the findings from scientists in Sweden highlight the wide-ranging effects on nature when drugs end up in the environment.
Researchers called for better efforts to prevent pharmaceutical pollution, with individuals having a responsibility to dispose of surplus drugs carefully.
In the study, an implant that released fixed amounts of clobazam was applied to wild Atlantic salmon smoults, the term used for young salmon migrating to the sea for the first time. The animals’ movements were tracked after they were released into the River Dal in Sweden.
“We had different groups of the salmon smoults exposed to different concentrations or no chemical, and found this effect on migration to the Baltic Sea,” said Dr Michael Bertram, an assistant professor at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences and one of the authors of the study.
Separating from the crowd
Exposure to clobazam resulted in more salmon smoults reaching the sea, with the creatures passing through two hydrodams on their way to the sea more quickly, probably because they were shoaling less. Separate laboratory work confirmed that clobazam reduced shoaling, which is when fish group together for social reasons.
A reduction in shoaling could, the researchers said, increase the risk of individuals being picked off by predators.
While the clobazam was deliberately applied in the study, the concentrations were similar to those that the creatures might be exposed to in the environment, because the drug is present in waterways.
“These results suggest that clobazam exposure may have altered risk-taking behaviour in salmon smoults,” the researchers wrote in their paper, published today[Thurs] in Science.
“ … Taken together, our results suggest that clobazam-exposed smoults may have adopted a more risk-prone and solitary strategy than unexposed [smoults of the same species] when undertaking their seaward migration.
“We emphasise that any changes to migration dynamics are expected to have long-term consequences for the viability of contaminated populations.”
Previous studies have shown how widespread pharmaceutical pollution is, with more than 900 drugs or chemicals derived from them detected in the environment.
“A research study found pharmaceuticals were widespread across all continents, including Antarctica,” Dr Bertram said.
“These can affect animals not only in behaviour but in survival, reproduction, development and growth. I think animal behaviour is particularly useful to measure because it can be disrupted at very low concentrations.”
How drugs end up in the water
There are several sources of pharmaceutical pollution, said Prof David Hannah, professor of hydrology and UNESCO chair in water science at the University of Birmingham.
These include, he said, human waste, as excreted pharmaceuticals are released into the environment because sewage treatment plants fail to remove them.
Also, consumers may throw drugs that are not needed down the sink or flush them down the toilet, so-called "down-the-drain disposal of chemicals", while some pharmaceutical manufacturing facilities improperly dispose of waste.
“Also, pharmaceuticals used in livestock can enter waterways through runoff from animal-feeding operations,” Prof Hannah said.
The time taken for drugs to break down in the environment varies, Dr Bertram said, from a few days to hundreds of days. Even when they degrade, more are introduced to replace them.
This is the case with, for example, the painkiller paracetamol, the presence in the environment of which has been analysed by Dr Wulan Koagouw, an environmental scientist at the National Research and Innovation Agency in Indonesia.
Dr Koagouw has found high concentrations in Jakarta Bay, and she said that it persisted in aquatic environments such as these because although it broke down, it was introduced “almost continuously”.
Paracetamol, she said, potentially disrupted physiological processes in marine organisms, and may also, for example, affect embryonic development and movement in fish larvae and embryos. Clams, oysters and mussels have also been found by previous research to be affected by paracetamol in the environment.
“These findings highlight the need for continued monitoring and mitigation of pharmaceutical pollutants in aquatic ecosystems to protect aquatic biodiversity,” she said.
Can people be affected too?
Aside from their effects on marine and freshwater life, the presence of pharmaceuticals in the environment raises the question of possible impacts on people.
Dr Bertram said that, at the concentrations usually found in waterways, pharmaceuticals would typically not have harmful effects.
“We aren’t exposed in the same way as, for example, a fish that’s swimming in a polluted river,” he said. “That’s not the case in countries where pharmaceutical production takes place.
“In these regions, such as India, Pakistan and China, there are areas that are heavily polluted. At these concentrations where there’s effluent there could well be effects on human health.”
Dr Koagouw said, however, that although typically concentrations of pharmaceutical substances in drinking water were low, there were concerns about “long-term, low-dose exposure”, particularly when it came to the risk of increased antibiotic resistance in bacteria.
“Furthermore, [hormone]-disrupting chemicals may pose risks to reproductive health over time,” she added.
Making change
Scientists said that multiple actions were needed to reduce levels of pharmaceutical pollution in freshwater and marine environments.
Improved wastewater treatment is one priority. Dr Koagouw said that a porous form of carbon called activated carbon, which has a large surface area, could filter water effectively, while a process called advanced oxidation could also “significantly enhance pharmaceutical removal”.
“Public education on safe medication disposal, such as take-back programmes, is crucial to prevent improper flushing or discarding of unused drugs,” she added.
Related to this, campaigns promoting responsible drug consumption and environmental awareness could be useful.
Also, pollution could be cut through policies that held manufacturers accountable for environmental emissions, such as the “polluter pays” principle in EU regulations, according to Dr Koagouw.
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
Tom Fletcher on 'soft power'
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
Result
Crystal Palace 0 Manchester City 2
Man City: Jesus (39), David Silva (41)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The BIO:
He became the first Emirati to climb Mount Everest in 2011, from the south section in Nepal
He ascended Mount Everest the next year from the more treacherous north Tibetan side
By 2015, he had completed the Explorers Grand Slam
Last year, he conquered K2, the world’s second-highest mountain located on the Pakistan-Chinese border
He carries dried camel meat, dried dates and a wheat mixture for the final summit push
His new goal is to climb 14 peaks that are more than 8,000 metres above sea level
Blue%20Beetle
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RACECARD
6pm Emaar Dubai Sprint – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (Turf) 1,200m
6.35pm Graduate Stakes – Conditions (TB) $100,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm Al Khail Trophy – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,810m
7.45pm UAE 1000 Guineas – Listed (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,600m
8.20pm Zabeel Turf – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 2,000m
8.55pm Downtown Dubai Cup – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 1,400m
9.30pm Zabeel Mile – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,600m
10.05pm Dubai Sprint – Listed (TB) $100,000 (T) 1,200m
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Ultra processed foods
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars;
- energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
- many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts.
The%20specs
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Generational responses to the pandemic
Devesh Mamtani from Century Financial believes the cash-hoarding tendency of each generation is influenced by what stage of the employment cycle they are in. He offers the following insights:
Baby boomers (those born before 1964): Owing to market uncertainty and the need to survive amid competition, many in this generation are looking for options to hoard more cash and increase their overall savings/investments towards risk-free assets.
Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980): Gen X is currently in its prime working years. With their personal and family finances taking a hit, Generation X is looking at multiple options, including taking out short-term loan facilities with competitive interest rates instead of dipping into their savings account.
Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996): This market situation is giving them a valuable lesson about investing early. Many millennials who had previously not saved or invested are looking to start doing so now.
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
If you go
Flying
Despite the extreme distance, flying to Fairbanks is relatively simple, requiring just one transfer in Seattle, which can be reached directly from Dubai with Emirates for Dh6,800 return.
Touring
Gondwana Ecotours’ seven-day Polar Bear Adventure starts in Fairbanks in central Alaska before visiting Kaktovik and Utqiarvik on the North Slope. Polar bear viewing is highly likely in Kaktovik, with up to five two-hour boat tours included. Prices start from Dh11,500 per person, with all local flights, meals and accommodation included; gondwanaecotours.com
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Austrian Grand Prix race timings
Weekend schedule for Austrian Grand Prix - all timings UAE
Friday
Noon-1.30pm First practice
4-5.30pm Second practice
Saturday
1-2pm Final practice
4pm Qualifying
Sunday
4pm Austrian Grand Prix (71 laps)
SUZUME
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Yahya Al Ghassani's bio
Date of birth: April 18, 1998
Playing position: Winger
Clubs: 2015-2017 – Al Ahli Dubai; March-June 2018 – Paris FC; August – Al Wahda
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Arrogate's winning run
1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016
2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016
3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016
4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016
5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016
6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017
7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017
