Using E. coli to detect hormone disruptors in the environment
Wednesday, January 11, 2017 - 10:51
in Biology & Nature
Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) have been implicated in the development of obesity, diabetes and cancer and are found in a wide array of products including pesticides, plastics and pharmaceuticals. EDCs are potentially harmful, even at low concentrations, equal in some cases to mere milligrams dissolved in in a swimming pool full of water. Now researchers report that they can quickly detect environmentally relevant concentrations of EDCs using engineered E. coli bacteria.