Indeed. The author is loading the word "weaker" with another meaning; a meaningless one at that: who would write an article with a title such as "It's official:

Indeed. The author is loading the word "weaker" with another meaning; a meaningless one at that: who would write an article with a title such as "It's official: Humans really are the weaker species" if it were shown that cyanide contamination the world over was having a negative effect on all people?