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While all links worked when entries were posted to the database, different publishers
have different policies about retaining articles and providing access to archived material.
Thus some of the links, particularly older ones, may no longer be functional.
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Boys exposed to phthalates during pregnancy are less likely to choose “boy typical” toys such as trucks, suggesting that phthalates can alter brain development and gender-specific behaviors.
This is the first study to suggest a link between prenatal phthalate exposure and male behavior. The results indicate that phthalates can interfere with testosterone during development leading to a less masculinized brain. 16 November 2009. More...
Sperm counts are lower in mice whose mothers were exposed during pregnancy to a mixture of particles found in diesel exhaust.
The results add to a small but growing series of studies that suggest exposure to diesel exhaust can disrupt the proper development of the testis in rats and mice and perhaps affect reproduction. 14 August 2009. More...
A new study conducted in New York City concludes that prenatal exposure to the common air pollutants – polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) – can lower children’s IQ at kindergarten age.
While this is the first study to show that prenatal exposure to PAH can lower children’s IQ, PAHs are known to affect neurodevelopment, reproduction and growth, and to cause cancer. 13 August 2009. More...
Scorpion venom can change the way rats grow and develop if they are exposed to the neurotoxins before birth.
Scorpion stings are a public health problem in Brazil. This is one of a few studies to date to examine if scorpion venom poses a unique threat to developing offspring. The study clearly shows that baby rats are developmentally altered in many ways if their moms are "stung" while pregnant. 15 July 2009. More...
A detailed analysis of all the available studies comparing work-related, parental pesticide exposure and childhood leukemia finds that the mother’s exposure during pregnancy can double her child’s risk of the disease. The father’s exposure before pregnancy does not.
The study emphasizes the significant contribution of prenatal exposure in developing childhood disease and shows a need for more in-depth studies of the effects of prenatal exposures to environmental factors. 17 June 2009. More...
Newborn girls exposed prenatally to phthalates scored poorly on a standard behavior test – and very differently from boys. The phthalate metabolites found in the mother's urine were associated with the girls' poor performance on tests of attention and alertness.
This is the first study to link phthalates to neurological development effects in humans. Previous health studies have linked phthalates to altered genital development, obesity, diabetes risk and poor sperm quality. 8 June 2009. More...
A five-generation rat study provides the clearest evidence to date that exposure to low levels of environmental estrogens can increase the risk of abnormal cell growth in the male breast.
Abnormalities which could have the potential to become cancerous developed in the mammary gland tissue of male rats that were exposed to either the soy-based phytoestrogen genistein or ethinyl estradiol -- an estrogen used in birth control pills. 27 May 2009. More...
New research indicates that smoking during pregnancy can lead to impulsive behavior in children.
Preteenagers whose mothers smoked during pregnancy are more impulsive on a standard behavior test and use different regions of their brain while performing the test when compared to children whose mothers did not smoke. 26 May 2009. More...
Cigarette smoke can change prebirth development in ways that contribute to cardiovascular disease later in life, according to results of this study using mice.
Smoking exposure altered body weight and cholesterol levels in the offspring. The research is part of a rapidly developing field that examines prenatal environmental exposures which can impact health later in life. 18 May 2009. More...
Researchers report a higher risk of genital anomalies in boys exposed before birth to polybrominated biphenyl flame retardants.
Although no longer used, the effects of exposure to PBBs are of concern due to their similarity to currently used flame retardants, their long half-life and their ability to cross the placenta. The children of mothers who had the highest exposures also had a greater risk for urinary tract or genital problems. 15 May 2009. More...
Lead released from a woman's bones during pregnancy can affect her developing baby's DNA in ways that can alter gene expression and possibly increase the child's lifelong susceptibility to disease.
This is the first study to show that lead can influence genetic programming in human cells, and hence, gene expression, throughout life. 21 April 2009. More...
Female rats exposed to estrogenic compounds through their mothers while in the womb had greater reactions to pain as adults, according to a study by Italian researchers.
The increased pain sensitivity may be due to permanent changes in how the nerves developed in the rats that were exposed before birth to either ethynylestradiol, the most commonly used synthetic estrogen in birth control pills, or methoxychlor, a common insecticide long known to have estrogenic activity in mammals. 16 April 2009. More...
A single, modest exposure to caffeine during early development in the womb can alter heart growth and cardiac function later in life, finds this mouse study.
The results suggest even small amounts of caffeine delivered at the wrong time during development may change the heart. Since approximately 60 percent of women say they have consumed coffee during the first month of pregnancy, understanding the consequences of prenatal caffeine exposure is important. 14 April 2009. More...
Researchers find for the first time that mice exposed to dioxin during development or while nursing have a diminished capacity to fight a flu infection later in life.
Mouse pups born to pregnant mice that were exposed to a small amount of the ubiquitous and persistent pollutants had fewer white blood cells that normally kill the flu virus and more of a different kind that increases lung inflammation. The increased inflammation can make the disease more severe and recovery more difficult. 18 March 2009. More...
A PCB mix altered reproductive hormones and organ growth in two generations of female rats that were never directly exposed to the chemicals themselves.
The abnormalities worsened in the granddaughters when compared to the daughters. The worst effects were seen at the mid -- not the highest or lowest -- level tested. Levels were within the range of human exposure. 27 February 2009. More...
More evidence from lab rat studies shows the plastic compound bisphenol A can permanently affect reproductive hormones, resulting in early puberty and odd ovulation patterns.
The study is the first to find long lasting hormonal changes when exposure occurs after birth, during critical times of development. Past studies have found similar effects when exposures occur before birth, during prenatal development. 19 February 2009. More...
A majority of breastfeeding women said if they knew the milk was tainted with pollutants they would wean their babies early out of fear of exposing them to environmental chemicals, even though nursing enhances infant body and brain development and doctors and researchers encourage it.
This study is most likely the first to actually ask women if they would change breastfeeding based on results of pollutants found in their breast milk. 12 February 2009. More...
Researchers in Taiwan find that phthalates can pass from pregnant women to their unborn babies and affect reproductive development in their daughters.
The paper reports an association between two types of the ubiquitous chemicals and permanent changes to the newborns' genitals that point to hormonal interference. Overall, the results provide more evidence that human exposure to these endocrine-disrupting chemicals before birth can alter how reproductive systems form. 30 January 2009. More...
Breast gland development is delayed in mice that were exposed for only a short time through their mothers -- during late pregnancy or while nursing -- to a now widely used chemical found in nonstick cookware and food packaging.
The results show that even a brief exposure to PFOA during a critical time of development can lead to long-term effects on the developing mammary gland. 29 January 2009. More...
Thirty-six scientists conclude in a peer-reviewed commentary that the FDA's draft decision on bisphenol A uses unacceptable criteria for selecting data and depends heavily upon a key paper that is fatally flawed.
The NIH-funded research rejected by the FDA is likely to produce reliable and valid scientific data than the studies used by the agency in its draft. 30 October 2008. More...
Prenatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) may lower a child's intelligence at age nine by several points, a study from Oswego, New York, finds.
The pre-teen children whose mothers were highly exposed to PCBs during pregnancy scored lower in general and verbal IQ tests than those born to mothers who were mildly exposed. The findings support other human studies that suggest exposure to these persistent chemicals disrupts early childhood mental development. 27 October 2008. More...
Adult men may have lower testosterone levels if their mother drank large amounts of coffee during pregnancy.
This new study from Denmark finds that the adult sons whose mothers drank large amounts of coffee during pregnancy had testosterone levels almost 10% lower than those whose mothers drank none to three cups of coffee per day. 5 October 2008. More...
Research in Denmark indicates that pregnant women exposed to pesticides at work have an increased risk of sons with abnormal reproductive development.
Their sons are more likely to have undescended testicles, smaller testicles and shorter penises. 4 October 2008. More...
A new study from China indicates that reducing air pollution from coal-burning power plants may improve children's ability to learn.
Children living near a recently closed coal-burning power plant performed better in a neurological development test compared to children living in the area three years prior when the plant was still in operation. 25 September 2008. More...
In the first prospective study exploring how fetal exposures may affect the risk of childhood obesity, scientists from Spain report that children born to mothers with higher levels of the pesticide hexachlorobenzene in cord blood were significantly more likely to be overweight and obese by the age of six.
These results add to growing evidence that fetal exposure to contaminants can interfere with hormonal mechanisms that control weight later in life, thereby contributing to the world-wide epidemic of metabolic disorder. 22 August 2008. More...
Pregnant women exposed to household pesticides may increase the risk of their children developing leukemia, according to a recent study conducted in France.
In the study, parents of leukemia patients were more likely to have used pesticides and insecticides either at home or at work. Exposure to these chemicals is a risk factor for blood cancers, particularly if children are exposed in the womb, the authors' conclude. 5 February 2008. More...
A new analysis by the CDC indicates that many Americans are exposed to bisphenol A at levels above the current safety threshold set by the EPA based upon decades-old data.
These levels are significantly higher than those sufficient to cause a wide array of health effects in animals following exposure in the womb. Exposure to another industrial chemical, 4-tertiary-octylphenol, is also widespread. 8 November 2007. More...
Thirty-eight of the world's leading scientific experts on bisphenol A have warned policymakers of potential adverse health effects of exposure to the widespread molecule used to make plastic and food can lining.
They conclude that average levels in people are above those that cause harm to animals in laboratory experiments. And they calculate that average serum levels in people can only be explained by assuming that exposures today are already above the level that EPA considers safe. 13 August 2007. More...
Exposure to bisphenol A during development changes gene behavior in mice, causing genetically identical animals to develop differently.
BPA exposure reduces DNA methylation, thereby increasing the expression of genes that would have been silenced. The results can be counteracting by supplementing the maternal diet during pregnancy and lactation with nutrients that increase methylation, such as genistein, a phytoestrogen found in soy. 30 July 2007. More...
Nicotine, a powerful drug found in tobacco products and anti-smoking therapies, impaired the ability of adult rats to control glucose levels after they had been exposed to the drug during fetal development and lactation.
The changes are consistent with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes. The exposed rats had fewer insulin-making cells in the pancreas. Exposures were comparable to those experienced by moderate smokers or people using nicotine patches. 18 June 2007. More...
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