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<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:12.0pt"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/fish-exposed-anti-anxiety-meds-live-longer-better-life/">http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/fish-exposed-anti-anxiety-meds-live-longer-better-life/</a></span><o:p></o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.15pt;background:white"><b><font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:11.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B;text-transform:uppercase;font-weight:bold"><a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/science/"><font color="#1b1b1b"><span style="color:#1B1B1B;text-decoration:none">Science</span></font></a>
<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:8.05pt;margin-right:.15pt;margin-bottom:8.05pt;margin-left:0in;background:white">
<b><font size="6" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:24.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B;font-weight:bold">Fish exposed to anti-anxiety meds live longer, better lives<o:p></o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-bottom:6.0pt;background:white">
<b><font size="3" color="white" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:white;font-weight:bold"><o:p> </o:p></span></font></b></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.15pt;background:white"><font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">BY
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/author/dave-sloan/"><font color="#377bda"><span style="color:#377BDA;text-decoration:none">Dave Sloan</span></font></a>
<i><span style="font-style:italic">August 8, 2014 at 4:32 PM EDT</span></i><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.15pt;background:white"><font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B"><img border="0" width="689" height="458" id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01CFB559.6724DE60" alt="European perch. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons."></span></font><font color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">European perch. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-right:.15pt;background:white"><font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B"><br>
A study<a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/9/8/084003/article?_ga=1.8786231.327671969.1407421678"><font color="#377bda"><span style="color:#377BDA;text-decoration:none"> released on Friday</span></font></a> revealed that young fish live longer after
being exposed to anti-anxiety medicine concentrated in sewage runoffs.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">Past studies on the consequences of other compounds found in streams and waterways such as caffeine, estrogen, and diabetes medicine showed
that they were potentially altering the reproductive systems of fish living in the affected areas.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">Scientists tested to see if the exposure to
<a href="http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/druginfo/meds/a682050.html"><font color="#377bda"><span style="color:#377BDA;text-decoration:none">Oxazepam</span></font></a>, an anti-anxiety and insomnia medication, was impacting the survival rate among Eurasian
perch. They tested adult and embryos of the species by exposing them to several levels the sedative. The result concluded that both groups had a significantly higher survival rate than the studies non-exposed control group.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">The therapeutic effect of the drug also caused a noticeable change in the species’ behavior. For example, the perch were believed to be
less anxious and more comfortable in a predator-free environment, causing them to travel and search for food away from their pack. The change in their behavior led to a higher feeding rate than the unexposed fish.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">Researchers are concerned about the shift in behavior and increased longevity of the exposed fish. Baby Eurasian perch typically have a
<a href="http://iopscience.iop.org/1748-9326/9/8/084003/article?_ga=1.8362544.327671969.1407421678%20">
<font color="#377bda"><span style="color:#377BDA;text-decoration:none">92 percent mortality rate
</span></font></a>at hatching but the change in survival rate might potentially alter the the ecosystem.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">Tomas Bodin, one of the co-authors of the study,
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/fish-exposed-anti-anxiety-meds-live-longer-better-life/%20http:/qz.com/246792/sewage-spiked-with-anti-anxiety-meds-helps-baby-fish-live-longer-mellower-lives/#/">
<font color="#377bda"><span style="color:#377BDA;text-decoration:none">explained</span></font></a>, “A therapeutic effect leading to increased survival of one species may generate a proportional increase in mortality of that species’ prey, which may have cascading
ecological consequences that need consideration.”<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="mso-margin-top-alt:auto;margin-right:.15pt;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;background:white">
<font size="3" color="#1b1b1b" face="Arial"><span style="font-size:12.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:#1B1B1B">The study has opened a conversation among the research community to take a further look into the long-term effects on fish and wildlife
exposed to other human compounds.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Deborah L. DeBiasi</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><b><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy;font-weight:bold">Email: Deborah.DeBiasi@deq.virginia.gov</span></font></b><b><i><font size="2" color="red"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:red;font-weight:bold;font-style:italic"><br>
</span></font></i></b><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">WEB site address:
<a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/">www.deq.virginia.gov</a></span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Virginia Department of Environmental Quality</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Office of Water Permits
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Industrial Pretreatment/Whole Effluent Toxicity (WET) Program</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">PPCPs, EDCs, and Microconstituents<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><a href="http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx">http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/Water/PermittingCompliance/PollutionDischargeElimination/Microconstituents.aspx</a></span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy"><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="2" color="navy" face="Times New Roman"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Mail: P.O. Box 1105, Richmond, VA 23218</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">Location: 629 E. Main Street, Richmond, VA 23219</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:11.0pt;color:navy"><br>
</span></font><font size="2" color="navy"><span style="font-size:10.0pt;color:navy">PH: 804-698-4028 FAX: 804-698-4032<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font size="3" color="#000099" face="Times New Roman"><o:p> </o:p></font></p>
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