Hormone contamination in the environment has multiple sources.
In recent years there has been growing concern for the state of the environment, and awareness about the harmful impacts pollutants have on the health of its living inhabitants. One of the more complex sources of environmental contamination arises in the form of steroid hormones and mimics of those hormones, that can enter the environment from a number of sources.
Livestock farms, slaughterhouses, large urban assemblies, wastewater, pharmaceutical production, and fertilizers greatly contribute to the leaching of estrogens and androgens into the environment.
The emerging evidence of xenoestrogens and xenoandrogens that leach from microplastics, the hormonal dominance from ingesting phytoestrogens and phytoandrogens, as well as synthetic hormones entering the environment through farming and industrial practices highlight a real need for constant monitoring of our water ways and other environmental sources. Because steroid hormone activity affects almost every physiological system, environmental exposure through these pollutants can drastically impact animal welfare and human health.
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Synthetic biology allows measurement of bioactivity in any environmental sample.
To screen for contamination in environmental samples, InsituGen is developing novel bioassays to assess overall estrogenic or androgenic potential in waterways and other environments. The timely and cost-effective identification of contamination using InsituGen’s bioassay technology would permit quick action and mitigation at the point of analysis.
Contact us if you are interested in testing environmental or product samples with InsituGen at our New Zealand facility.
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