670 Sex Hormone Disruption

A common compound found in the lining of cans, plastic water bottles and even baby bottles can mimic the hormone estrogen. Environmental contamination is widespread and most Americans have measurable levels of the compound, bisphenol A, in our bodies. Will these hormone disruptors affect our health and our children’s health? When Agouti mice are exposed to bisphenol A pre-natally, lean brown mice become fat and blond. The implications for humans are not yet fully known. The photo shows two genetically identical mice with differing prenatal exposure in Dr. Jirtle's laboratory. This is the first in a two-part series on endocrine disruption. Guests: John McLachlan, PhD, Weatherhead Distinguished Professor of Environmental Studies and Professor of Pharmacology at Tulane University and Director of the Tulane-Xavier Center for Bio-Environmental Research. Randy Jirtle, PhD, Professor of Radiation Oncology at Duke University Medical Center http://www.geneimprint.com/lab/ Frederick Vom Saal, PhD, Professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Missouri at Columbia, Missouri. http://endocrinedisruptors.missouri.edu/vomsaal/vomsaal.html Click here to download our podcast.