[ RadSafe ] Environment: Ingesting radioactive materials from Fukushima impacts butterflies

[Brad Keck]

Hard to say based on this report alone, but - taking the information presented as legitimate - it seems to me very likely that butterfly larvae would be very much impacted by: 1) the bacterial content and rottenness of feeding them forest floor detritus; 2) the fact that insects are highly acclimated to local diet; 3) the possibility of pesticide content with no apparent monitoring for this; and 4) the authors' complete lack of description as how the diets were comparable with the exception of any cesium - this is essential to their claim, of course.  

Also, this is not "Nature" but an open access variant whose relationship to the "nature" you know is quite unclear to me, despite the type face similarity.  Perhaps someone associated with the journal we know as Nature will see this and comment?

On tv this morning I was treated to an infomercial for some sort of supplement that supposedly improves memory and defies aging.  This was prominently featured as having been published in "JANA"  - the type face used did happen to be quite similar to that used by "JAMA" - but I doubt the American Medical Association reviewed and approved!  Unfortunately, the science equivalent of the infomercial is now upon us.  


Bradly D. Keck, PhD




Sent from my iPad

> On May 17, 2014, at 4:51 AM, Roger Helbig <rwhelbig at gmail.com> wrote:
> 
> Is this research soundly based, or flawed in some way?
> 
> Roger Helbig
> 
> arclight2011part2 posted: " ... consuming leaves that contain
> relatively small levels of artificial cesium released by the Fukushima
> Dai-ichi NPP has measurable effects on the butterflies' survival,
> growth and development...
> http://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/9"
> Respond to this post by replying above this line
> 
> New post on nuclear-news
> 
> Environment: Ingesting radioactive materials from Fukushima impacts butterflies
> 
> by arclight2011part2
> 
> ... consuming leaves that contain relatively small levels of
> artificial cesium released by the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP has
> measurable effects on the butterflies' survival, growth and
> development...
> 
> http://www.natureasia.com/en/research/highlight/9275
> 
> Scientific Reports
> 
> May 15, 2014
> 
> Butterfly larvae that ingest radioactive plant materials collected
> from the vicinity of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant may be
> more prone to abnormalities and early death. The findings are
> published in Scientific Reports this week.
> 
> The accident at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (NPP) in
> March 2011 led to the release of a large amount of radioactive
> materials into the environment. Previous research has indicated that
> exposure to such radioactive materials may have physiological and
> genetic effects on the Japanese pale grass blue butterfly (Zizeeria
> maha). Now Joji Otaki and colleagues examine how radiation from the
> contaminated region around Fukushima may contribute to lifetime
> ingestion of radionuclides by butterflies, and the potential
> biological consequences. The authors fed radioactive plant materials
> from locations around Fukushima to Japanese pale grass blue butterfly
> larvae from Okinawa - a Japanese prefecture about 1,000 miles south of
> Fukushima.
> 
> They show that consuming leaves that contain relatively small levels
> of artificial caesium released by the Fukushima Dai-ichi NPP has
> measurable effects on the butterflies' survival, growth and
> development. Further research is needed to explore the potential
> implications of these findings for other organisms.
> 
> DOI:10.1038/srep04946 | Original article
> Article has been pulled off this link however Nature has still got the
> details on their web site. Here is the information I was able to get;
> 
> The biological impacts of ingested radioactive materials on the pale
> grass blue butterfly
> 
> http://www.nature.com/srep/2014/140515/srep04946/full/srep04946.html
> 
> Read more of this post
> 
> arclight2011part2 | May 17, 2014 at 1:52 am | URL: http://wp.me/phgse-hli
> 
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