A new study has revealed that Atrazine, a commonly used weed killer in the Midwestern United State and other pre-dominantly agricultural areas across the world, can end up chemically "castrating" male frogs, and might even turn some into females.

New research has indicated that the herbicide might just be a cause of the sharp decline in the population of the amphibian across the world. The study was carried out by biologists at the University of California-Berkeley.

Researchers discovered that long-term exposure to low levels of atrazine, i. e., about 2.5 parts per billion of water, ended up emasculating about nearly three-quarters of laboratory frogs, and even turned 1 in 10 into a female. Experts believe that the reason could be the pesticide's interference with endocrine hormones, like estrogen and testosterone.

"The effects of atrazine in the long term have been shown to demasculinize or chemically castrate [frogs], combined with complete feminization of some animals", said lead researcher Tyrone B. Hayes.

Details of the study are all set to be published this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.