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Frogs are particularly vulnerable during their early development, before and as they metamorphose from tadpoles into adult frogs. This change occurs in the spring, when atrazine levels are often at a maximum in surface water. Apparently, a single exposure to the chemical may affect the frog’s development. Thus, the herbicide is known as a hormone disrupter. In a more general sense, substances that interact with the hormone systems of an organism, whether or not they are linked to disease or abnormalities, are known as hormonally active agents (HAAs). These HAAs are able to trick the organism’s body (in this case, the frog’s) into believing that the chemicals have a role to play in its functional development.

 

An analogy you might be more familiar with is a computer virus that fools the computer into accepting it as part of the system by which the computer works. Similar to computer viruses, the HAAs interact with an organism and the mechanisms for regulating growth and development, thus disrupting normal growth functions.

 

Natural hormones produced by the body send chemical messages to cells, where receptors for the hormone molecules are found on the outside and inside of cells. These natural hormones then transmit instructions to the cells’ DNA, eventually directing development and growth. We now know that chemicals, such as some pesticides and herbicides, can also bind to the receptor molecules and either mimic or obstruct the role of the natural hormones.

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