Here's the scenario: University researcher Patricia Hunt moves her lab rats from Case Western Reserve University in Ohio to Washington State University in Pullman. Suddenly, only 10 percent of the mated females get pregnant -- and a significant percentage of the resulting fetuses die late in the pregnancy. Plus, the timing of the litters doesn't match its usual pace.

Patricia Hunt
Photo/WSU

We saw more birth defects in the first few months of our study than we had seen in our previous 13 years at Case.

It turns out that two chemicals in a disinfectant used to clean the lab were to blame. They are the quaternary ammonium compounds ADBAC (n-alkyl dimethyl benzyl ammonium chloride) and DDAC (didecyl dimethyl ammonium chloride). Both are in something called Virex that was used to clean the lab.

It marked the second time Hunt has accidentally discovered deleterious effects of chemicals on lab animals. While still at Case in 2003, she found that a caustic floor detergent mistakenly used to clean plastic water bottles leached out bisphenol A, whose effects we have explored before.

Hunt told Nature she's concerned about the potential effect on humans:

This group of compounds acts on the cell membrane, and does a fantastic job of killing everything. But, you know, we're composed of membranes too.