Researchers at the University of Saskatchewan in Canada used synchrotron imaging to detect lung damage in female mice that standard medical tests had missed. The study, published in the journal Scientific Reports, examined the effects of exposure to substances common in agriculture: endotoxin (a component of grain dust) and the herbicide glyphosate.
What did the researchers find?
The research team, led by Dr. Shelley Kirychuk, director of the Canadian Centre for Rural and Agricultural Health (CCRAH) at the University of Saskatchewan, exposed female mice to endotoxin and glyphosate for five days, at doses matching levels measured in agricultural dust. Four groups of mice received, respectively, endotoxin alone, glyphosate alone, a saline solution as a control, or the combination of both substances.
Conventional methods such as blood tests, lung fluid analysis, tissue examination and lung function tests (plethysmography) showed no clear difference between the groups after five days. Only synchrotron imaging using the so-called multiple image radiography (MIR) technique, carried out at the BMIT beamline of the Canadian Light Source in Saskatoon under professor Dean Chapman, revealed fluid buildup in the small airways. This technique measures light refraction rather than absorption and uses a low radiation dose, allowing repeated scans. The combination of endotoxin and glyphosate caused a stronger response than either substance alone, an effect that only became visible through this imaging technique.
Importantly, this is a preclinical animal study, not research involving people. Chapman himself calls it a pilot experiment; a comparable publication on male mice has yet to appear.
What does this mean for female farmers and employers?
According to the most recent Canadian agricultural census, women make up about 30 percent of farmers in Canada, but earlier research into exposure and health effects focused mainly on men. What the findings in mice mean for humans has not yet been studied. Separately, Kirychuk points to existing, general precautions against dust: N95 masks, especially in enclosed spaces such as grain silos and during dusty work. A good fit matters, since standard protective equipment is often not designed for women, and more ventilation reduces exposure.
Chapman sees the study mainly as evidence that synchrotron imaging can also have value in occupational health research: “a method looking for applications,” as Chapman put it.
Context
The research builds on earlier work by the same research group at the University of Saskatchewan. A 2023 PhD thesis by researcher Kaitlin Merkowsky, supervised by Kirychuk, found using a similar exposure model (LPS and glyphosate in mice) that female mice showed less lung damage and lower inflammation markers overall than male mice, possibly due to a protective effect of estrogen. The precise mechanism has not yet been clarified. These earlier findings underline why separate research into female exposure is needed, and why the new study focuses specifically on female mice.
Relevance for employers and policymakers worldwide: the study indicates that standard tests in laboratory animals can miss lung damage from combined exposure to dust and pesticides, and that sex differences in exposure research should not be ignored. For the agricultural sector in Europe, the United States and elsewhere, this is primarily a signal for the occupational health research agenda; human research is needed before conclusions about health risks in people, or new protective requirements, can be drawn.
Source: Synchrotron imaging detects hidden lung risk for female farmers, October 17, 2026
Additional research: doctoral thesis “Characterizing Lung Inflammation in Agricultural Respiratory Exposures Between the Sexes” (Kaitlin Merkowsky, University of Saskatchewan, 2023), via Harvest USask repository.
