May 22, 2019 06:05 PM
https://geneticliteracyproject.org/2019/...ay-claims/
EXCERPT: . . . Now that three juries have said Bayer’s weed killer Roundup (glyphosate) causes cancer, many people believe there is clear evidence that the herbicide is dangerous. [...] “Studies link glyphosate to a range of health concerns,” USRTK declared in a recent article, Glyphosate Spin Check: Tracking Claims About the Most Widely Used Herbicide, “including cancer, endocrine disruption, liver disease, shortened pregnancies, birth defects and damage to beneficial gut bacteria ….”
None of these claims stand up to scrutiny from independent scientists or oversight agencies, as GLP has reported extensively. But USRTK has employed a tactic (favored by political groups of all persuasions) in its opposition to glyphosate that is worth examining: Sifting through the peer-reviewed literature to find studies that support their argument, while dismissing contradictory research—widely known as “cherry picking.”
Selectively citing studies can lead to erroneous conclusions, which is why scientists criticize the practice and insist on evaluating all the available research, a standard known as “preponderance of evidence.” But if you want to show that glyphosate is dangerous, despite a mountain of contrary data, picking cherries is a useful approach.
To illustrate how easy it is to defend an unsubstantiated hypothesis, and why we should be skeptical of sensational claims about chemical harm or safety, let’s “demonstrate” that glyphosate might be a ‘cure’ for cancer by highlighting only the research that helps make the case.
Over the past several years, a handful of studies published in peer-reviewed journals and conducted by researchers at reputable universities has in fact suggested that glyphosate possesses cancer-fighting properties. The first such study was published in 2013. Researchers exposed human cancer cells in-vitro, or outside their normal biological context, to glyphosate and AMPA (the degradation product produced when glyphosate is metabolized). The experiment showed both substances inhibited cancer cell growth and promoted apoptosis (cell suicide), but left healthy cells unharmed, “…. suggesting that they have [potential] to be developed into a new anticancer therapy,” the authors concluded.
The researchers published a followup study in 2015 and got a similar result. They exposed human prostate cancer cell lines to AMPA and a chemical called methoxyacetic acid (MAA), concluding that both chemicals could “…. be used as potential therapeutic drugs in the treatment of prostate cancer.” (MORE - details)
EXCERPT: . . . Now that three juries have said Bayer’s weed killer Roundup (glyphosate) causes cancer, many people believe there is clear evidence that the herbicide is dangerous. [...] “Studies link glyphosate to a range of health concerns,” USRTK declared in a recent article, Glyphosate Spin Check: Tracking Claims About the Most Widely Used Herbicide, “including cancer, endocrine disruption, liver disease, shortened pregnancies, birth defects and damage to beneficial gut bacteria ….”
None of these claims stand up to scrutiny from independent scientists or oversight agencies, as GLP has reported extensively. But USRTK has employed a tactic (favored by political groups of all persuasions) in its opposition to glyphosate that is worth examining: Sifting through the peer-reviewed literature to find studies that support their argument, while dismissing contradictory research—widely known as “cherry picking.”
Selectively citing studies can lead to erroneous conclusions, which is why scientists criticize the practice and insist on evaluating all the available research, a standard known as “preponderance of evidence.” But if you want to show that glyphosate is dangerous, despite a mountain of contrary data, picking cherries is a useful approach.
To illustrate how easy it is to defend an unsubstantiated hypothesis, and why we should be skeptical of sensational claims about chemical harm or safety, let’s “demonstrate” that glyphosate might be a ‘cure’ for cancer by highlighting only the research that helps make the case.
Over the past several years, a handful of studies published in peer-reviewed journals and conducted by researchers at reputable universities has in fact suggested that glyphosate possesses cancer-fighting properties. The first such study was published in 2013. Researchers exposed human cancer cells in-vitro, or outside their normal biological context, to glyphosate and AMPA (the degradation product produced when glyphosate is metabolized). The experiment showed both substances inhibited cancer cell growth and promoted apoptosis (cell suicide), but left healthy cells unharmed, “…. suggesting that they have [potential] to be developed into a new anticancer therapy,” the authors concluded.
The researchers published a followup study in 2015 and got a similar result. They exposed human prostate cancer cell lines to AMPA and a chemical called methoxyacetic acid (MAA), concluding that both chemicals could “…. be used as potential therapeutic drugs in the treatment of prostate cancer.” (MORE - details)