WSU to Study Iraq Toxins' Effect
Spokesman-Review
by Bert Caldwell
Research to examine how exposure might damage offspring of soldiers
Washington State University scientists will use a $1.7 million grant to study what multi-generation genetic damage might be done by toxins U.S. troops could encounter in Iraq.
The research using laboratory rats, not humans, will be the first for the military to examine the epigenetic effects of pesticides, herbicides and other compounds, said lead scientist Michael Skinner, director of the university's Center for Reproductive Biology.
Previous studies have looked at the health effects of other substances, notably the Agent Orange used to defoliate jungles in Vietnam, on the soldiers directly exposed, he said, not on their children or grandchildren.
"The science really had not caught up with the trans-generational stuff," said Skinner, one of several WSU pioneers in the field of epigenetic, or multi-generational, inheritance.
Besides herbicides and pesticides – which and in what combinations has not been determined – the study also will look at the effects of explosives residues, he said.
The four-year study will allow researchers to see how any changes in genetic chemistry that develop are passed along through two subsequent generations of rats, he said, noting that only the first two years of research have been funded.
Among the problems that might develop are kidney disease, or changes in the male and female reproductive organs, he said.
If any genetic markers are identified in rats, Skinner said, follow-up research could look at whether they might show up among members of the military as well.
That would be of particular interest to Dave Holmes, interim chief operating officer of the Institute for Systems Medicine, which was awarded the U.S. Department of Defense grant passed through to Skinner.
Holmes' son, Tim Hammond, did two tours in Iraq with the U.S. Marine Corps.
"They sprayed all kinds of stuff on them," Holmes said.
Although the grant money, the first awarded ISM, will fund work in Pullman, he said the organization's supporters hope any subsequent clinical studies will be done in Spokane.
"There's a lot of excitement about making it happen," he said.
"Fighting for Our Veterans-Supporting Our Troops"
Proudly Serving All Branches & All Eras Since 1999
Search Our Site Below
Entire web
No registration required to leave comments
Mojave Cross still gone, but controversy remains
BARSTOW • Three months since the Mojave Cross was stolen from its site at Sunrise Rock, a legal battle is ensuing over when the Veterans of Foreign Wars can erect a new one, and investigators haven’t reported any leads into who swiped the national memorial.
Larry Whalon, deputy superintendent of the preserve, said the national publicity over the controversial cross has attracted tens of thousands of new visitors. Over the past year, Whalon said, at least 200,000 visitors have stopped by the area near Sunrise Rock, or roughly double the amount of usual traffic.
“If we had the real cross, that real cross would go right back up,” Whalon said.
In 1934, the VFW first placed a wooden cross on Sunrise Rock, about 10 miles south of Interstate 15 off Cima Road, to honor those killed in World War I. The cross came under legal fire about a decade ago by a former park service employee on grounds that it violated the constitutional separation of church and state. A lengthy court fight ensued, culminating in April with a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court that said the cross should remain. Ten days later, an unknown vandal stole the Mojave Cross.
For the full story, read Sunday's Press Dispatch. To subscribe to the Daily Press in print or online, call (760) 241-7755, 1-800-553-2006 or click here.
To view related stories, click on the headlines below:
