Pesticides may wreak havoc on the gut microbiome Disruption of intestinal ecosystem could contribute to diabetes and other health issues, scientists say

https://www.science.org/content/article/pesticides-may-wreak-havoc-gut-microbiome?utm_source=Live+Audience&utm_campaign=bf7de720f8-nature-briefing-daily-20260409&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-33f35e09ea-50432164 Eight years ago, Bhanudas More went for a routine blood test. More, a farmworker in this small village in Maharashtra state, was lean, worked long hours in the fields, and seemed healthy, so the result startled him. He was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, a disease commonly associated with sedentary life in the city. Evidence is growing that pesticides might disrupt the gut microbiome — and could be linked to the global rise of type 2 diabetes. A study in southern India found a surprisingly high prevalence of the disease (16%) in people who lived in the countryside, despite a lack of risk factors such as obesity. And the same team found that, in mice, a popular agricultural insecticide called chlorpyrifos seemed to depress populations of helpful bacteria in favour of potentially harmful ones, and the mice developed diabetes. “It’s not one single mechanism. It’s a network of biological effects that can ultimately disrupt communication along the gut–brain axis,” says neuroscientist John Cryan — but it’s a huge challenge to prove that pesticides are definitely the cause of harm in humans.