Volume XXV, Issue 19
Educating Women to Excel
March 19, 2008
ON THE
INSIDE:
Continuation
p. 2
Letter to the Editor
p. 3
Letter to the Editor
P-4
WEATHER
TODAY: PM T-Showers/
Wind. Low 51, High 75.
Thursday: Sunny. Low
41, High 65.
Friday: Mostly Sunny.
Low 50, High 69.
Saturday: Partly Cloudy.
Low 42, High 71.
Sunday: Partly Cloudy.
Low 42, High 55.
Monday: Few Showers.
Low 36, High 59.
Tuesday: Partly Cloudy.
Low 48, High 65.
Source: www.weather.com
Information retrieved
T^es. Mar. 18 at 3:30 p.m.
Water: Drought and Drugs
Chelsea McGlaughlin
StafFWriter
Water research at
Meredith has recently
caught the eye of NBC17.
Biology professor Dr.
Cuffney has been leading
her students' research on
the effects of pharma
ceuticals and personal
care products (PPCPs) on
aquatic ecosystems for
the past three years.
VVTien the Associated
Press published an article
about drugs found in
drinking water, NBC17
Health Reporter Julie
Henry wanted a local
connection to the story.
Cuffney says Henry
called many local plac
es, including the EPA,
the state Department
of Environment and
Natural Resources and
NCSU. When Henry
found information about
Meredith's biology lab
on the Internet, she con
tacted Dr. Cuffney to run
a story about the PPCP
research done in the lab.
The idea of research
ing the effect of PPCPs
on freshwater clams”
(which are good study
subjects since they
constantly filter water
through their bod
ies) arose from another
research project: "I had
students researching
fluoride in wateP several
years ago. In doing lit
erature searches for that
research, we came across
an article about PPCPs
and their distribution in
surface waters across the
United States. I suggest
ed it [as a research idea]
to other students inter
ested in projects. In 2003
we started looking at a
variety of pharmaceuti
cals and their effects on
dams," says Dr. Cuffney.
Explaining the
research procedures
she and her students
have been conducting,
Cuffriey says, "Our initial
tests have been what are
called LD [lethal dose]
50s. We expose clams to
various levels of PPCPs
in water and look for the
level at which 50% die in
the course of five days.
We also do microscopy of
internal structures to see
any anatomical changes
that might occur."
Exposed to acetamino
phen, the clams' effect on
the drug was surprising:
"What we found was that
after 3 days, the amount
of acetaminophen had
been decreased by about
18 percent," Cuffney
says. Acetaininophen is
not the only substance
whose effects on clams
the Meredith students
have studied: effects of
caffeine, fluoride, and
sunscreen have also been
observed.
How do PPCPs get
into surface waters?
Cuffney says there are
many avenues: "Some
get flushed down toi
lets, some get put in
landfills and leach out
into groundwater, some
get dumped and some
do not get completely
metabolized in the body
and are excreted." With
so many opportunities to
reach our water supplies,
she says, "The big ques
tion is, ^what do they
do'? What effects do
they have on our drink
ing water as well as on
the natural ecosystem of
the water?"
Cuffney says research
on this topic is a relative
ly new concern "because
people did not think that
the PPCPs would end up
in water. There has been
virtually no research
done on the effects
they have on aquatic
ecosystems. In the last
few years, researchers,
including the students
here at Meredith, have
started to look at [the
short- and long-term
effects of PPCPs on the
aquatic ecosystems].
We are seeing effects on
the function of gills in
clams, which will have
an impact on their respi
ration and feeding. How
this translates through
out the food web is
unknown."
Visit http://www.
obcl7.com/midatlantic/
ncn/search.apx.-content-
artides-NCN-2008-03-
10-0028.html to view
the entire NBC17 story
and to watch a video of
the story. Visit http://
news.yahoo.eom/s/
ap/20080310/ap_on_re_
us/pharmawater_i_8 to
read the Associated Press
story on the traces of
drugs foimd in drinking
water.
While the thought of
drugs in drinking water
may be scary, another
Water cont. on pg. 2
student researcher Preethi Sriram and biology
professor Dr. Cuffney study the effects of PPCPs on
clams
Photo courtesy http://www.nbcl7.com/midatlantic/ncn/
search.apx.-content-articles-NCN-2008-03-10-0028.
html