PESTICIDE LINKED TO THREE GENERATIONS OF DISEASE: METHOXYCHLOR CAUSES EPIGENETIC CHANGES

Washington state University researchers say ancestral exposures to the pesticide methoxychlor may lead to adult onset kidney disease, ovarian disease and obesity in future generations.What your great-grandmother was exposed to during pregnancy, like the pesticide methoxychlor, may promote a dramatic increase in your susceptibility to develop disease, and you will pass this on to your grandchildren in the absence of any continued exposures,” says Michael Skinner, WSU professor and founder of its Center for Reproductive Biology.

He and his colleagues document their findings in a paper published online in PLOS ONE.

DDT replacement banned in 2003

Methoxychlor — also known as Chemform, Methoxo, Metox or Moxie — was introduced in 1948 and widely used during the 1970s as a safer replacement for DDT. It was used on crops, ornamental plants, livestock and pets. It is still used in many countries around the world.

It was banned in the…