Is Pollution Weakening Polar Bears' Ability to Mate?
A new study finds a link between chemicals and bone loss that could damage males' penises, potentially harming reproduction.
In the Arctic, pollutants banned from the U.S. in 1979 but still floating around the environment seem to be affecting the strength of polar bear penile bones, possibly compromising the ability of the animals to reproduce.
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, were once used in everything from transformers to paint and are notorious for their ability to hitch a ride. They have been found all over the world, and they tend to hide out in whatever unlucky creatures eat them, ensconcing themselves in body fat and causing cancer and variety of other nasty effects.
Those effects, it appears, may also include damaging the baculum, a bone in the bear's penis, scientists report in the February issue of Environmental Research.
PCBs are especially
