Glyphosate is a common weed-killing chemical used in agriculture, and it may be best known as the active ingredient in Roundup herbicides. It’s estimated that as many as 90 percent of corn and 94 percent of soybean crops have been genetically engineered to tolerate the herbicide. Its safety has been the subject of fierce debate for many years, and while studies have indicated that it poses no threat to human health, other research has suggested that it may increase the risk of cancer.
“While we can’t fix what’s wrong in the individual who is exposed, we can potentially use this to diagnose if someone has a higher chance of getting kidney or prostate disease later in life, and then prescribe a therapeutic or lifestyle change to help mitigate or prevent the disease,” said corresponding study author Michael Skinner, a professor of biological sciences at Washington State University. Previous work by the Skinner lab has suggested that glyphosate causes heritable epigenetic changes.
“We need to change how we think about toxicology,” Skinner said. “Today worldwide, we only assess direct exposure toxicology; we don’t consider subsequent generational toxicity. We do have some responsibility to our future generations.”