Jonathan Lambert

Basically through us. So when humans take medication, like for anxiety or bacterial infections, our bodies don't use all of it, and we end up peeing out some of the chemicals. That can end up in wastewater, which can get into rivers and streams, and runoff from pharmaceutical factories gets into waterways, too. Hmm.

Basically through us. So when humans take medication, like for anxiety or bacterial infections, our bodies don't use all of it, and we end up peeing out some of the chemicals. That can end up in wastewater, which can get into rivers and streams, and runoff from pharmaceutical factories gets into waterways, too. Hmm.

Basically through us. So when humans take medication, like for anxiety or bacterial infections, our bodies don't use all of it, and we end up peeing out some of the chemicals. That can end up in wastewater, which can get into rivers and streams, and runoff from pharmaceutical factories gets into waterways, too. Hmm.

All told, researchers have found more than 900 different pharmaceutical ingredients in waterways around the world.

All told, researchers have found more than 900 different pharmaceutical ingredients in waterways around the world.

All told, researchers have found more than 900 different pharmaceutical ingredients in waterways around the world.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.

We're not entirely sure. Scientists have been trying to figure out what all this pollution could be doing to fish, and most of that has been done in the lab. Those experiments have shown that giving fish anxiety meds, for instance, kind of messes with their behavior.

We're not entirely sure. Scientists have been trying to figure out what all this pollution could be doing to fish, and most of that has been done in the lab. Those experiments have shown that giving fish anxiety meds, for instance, kind of messes with their behavior.

We're not entirely sure. Scientists have been trying to figure out what all this pollution could be doing to fish, and most of that has been done in the lab. Those experiments have shown that giving fish anxiety meds, for instance, kind of messes with their behavior.

Yeah, so if researchers give fish, say, a benzodiazepine like Xanax or an SSRI like Sertraline in the lab, these fish become more antisocial and more prone to take risks. But it's hard to say how these drugs affect their behavior out in the wild.

Yeah, so if researchers give fish, say, a benzodiazepine like Xanax or an SSRI like Sertraline in the lab, these fish become more antisocial and more prone to take risks. But it's hard to say how these drugs affect their behavior out in the wild.

Yeah, so if researchers give fish, say, a benzodiazepine like Xanax or an SSRI like Sertraline in the lab, these fish become more antisocial and more prone to take risks. But it's hard to say how these drugs affect their behavior out in the wild.

That's Jack Brand. He's a biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. And he worked on a study that kind of did the next best thing from a scientific perspective. The study was published in the journal Science this past month.

That's Jack Brand. He's a biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. And he worked on a study that kind of did the next best thing from a scientific perspective. The study was published in the journal Science this past month.

That's Jack Brand. He's a biologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. And he worked on a study that kind of did the next best thing from a scientific perspective. The study was published in the journal Science this past month.

The team implanted pharmaceuticals in Atlantic salmon in Sweden and monitored how two drugs, an anxiety med and a pain med, influenced their migration behavior.

The team implanted pharmaceuticals in Atlantic salmon in Sweden and monitored how two drugs, an anxiety med and a pain med, influenced their migration behavior.