Friday, August 22, 2025

Save Us, Invasive Lead Lizards

New research finds that brown anole lizards in New Orleans carry the highest blood-lead levels ever recorded in a vertebrate--amounts that would be lethal to most other animals--yet they appear unaffected.

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The study in Environmental Research found that the lizards' blood lead levels exceeded all previously reported values for fish, amphibians, birds, reptiles, and mammals. "What's astonishing is that these lizards aren't just surviving, they're thriving with lead burden that would be catastrophic for most other animals," says study author Alex Gunderson, assistant professor of ecology and evolutionary biology in Tulane's School of Science and Engineering.

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More from the cited article ...

... "These animals are performing at full capacity despite record-setting lead levels, making them one of the most, if not the most, lead-tolerant animals known to science," Blanchette says.

Transcriptomic analyses of the animals' brain and liver tissue showed only minor effects from lead exposure, although several altered genes were linked to metal ion regulation and oxygen transport. ...


#1 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-08-22 09:41 PM

Towns here in CT seem to be asking their residents about the water pipes feeding their homes, looking for lead pipes.

imo, it is good that the town officials do not seem to view their citizens as lead-immune lizards.


#2 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-08-22 09:43 PM

This seems bad for anything that eats lizards, or anything that eats anything that eats lizards, and so on.

Like all mercury in the oceans is why you will go insane if you eat too much tuna.

#3 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-08-23 12:34 AM

@#3

Yup.

The question becomes ... will that lead wind up eventually, somehow?, in our food supply?

#4 | Posted by LampLighter at 2025-08-23 01:04 AM

New Orleans has a lot of critters living there who don't belong. I suppose the major port there has a lot to do with it.

#5 | Posted by lfthndthrds at 2025-08-23 07:59 AM

I suppose the major port there has a lot to do with it.

Holy ----, a rational thought! It was obvious, but congratulations none the less!

Now, think hard about why lead-filled lizards amplify the effects of lead pollution in the environment.

You can do it, champ!

#6 | Posted by horstngraben at 2025-08-23 11:41 AM

New Orleans has a lot of critters living there who don't belong. I suppose the major port there has a lot to do with it.
#5 | Posted by lfthndthrds

Thanks, Capitalism!
And that includes the Black people you say don't belong.
Descendants of people the Whites brought over on slave ships.

#7 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-08-23 11:44 AM

Oh look, Snoofy equates black people to "critters". Anyone surprised?

#8 | Posted by lfthndthrds at 2025-08-23 01:35 PM

There's supposed to be a point in kid's life when he learns people are animals, and not so different.

Were you raised by your mom because your daddy was in prison or something?

You are missing major gaps in common social skills

Worse, you're trying to make up for them in ways that demonstrate a deep loneliness and need for attention.

Come to think of it, that's Trump's spell over you.

#9 | Posted by snoofy at 2025-08-23 04:19 PM

Turdswallower is a ------- imbecile.

#10 | Posted by LegallyYourDead at 2025-08-23 07:18 PM

If this works we should ask the radioactive Chernobyl Wolves to save us from the radioactive shrimp.

#11 | Posted by donnerboy at 2025-08-24 10:14 AM

They're making the anoles retarded.

#12 | Posted by HeliumRat at 2025-08-25 05:26 AM

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