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New moth variety disarms plants guarded by selenium

11-20-2006 · EurekAlert!

In new work, researchers report that the ability of plants to defend themselves by accumulating high levels of a toxic element can be overcome by some insects, and that such adaptation potentially echoes in the food web as other predators and parasites may in turn evolve to deal with high levels of the toxic element.

Keywords: moth, variety, disarms, plants, guarded, selenium, disarm, plant

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Higher levels of pollutants found in fish caught near a coal-fired power plant
11-07-2007 · EurekAlert!
Emissions from coal-fired power plants may be an important source of water pollution and fish contamination, say researchers at the University of Pittsburgh. Researchers found higher-than-EPA-recommended levels of mercury and elevated levels of selenium in channel catfish caught in a rural area downwind from a coal-fired power plant. Based on testing of 63 fish, they found that fish caught near the power plant had 19 times more mercury than store-bought fish.
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