The Toxic Baby

Onstage together at TEDWomen, Jagessar Chaffer and Tyrone Hayes tell their story

Filmed Dec 2010, video uploaded on 13 Feb 2012 by TED channel.

We know so much about global warming and climate change and yet we have no concept of internal environmentalism.

Filmmaker Penelope Jagessar Chaffer was curious about the chemicals she was exposed to while pregnant: could they affect her unborn child? So she asked scientist Tyrone Hayes to brief her on one he studied closely: atrazine, a herbicide used on corn.

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Hormone Disruptors Linked To Genital Changes and Sexual Preference

Hermaphroditic, demasculinized frogs after exposure to the herbicide atrazine at low ecologically relevant doses

Tyrone Hayes’ at work in his lab in Berkeley

Scientists are continuing to sound the alarm about some common chemicals, including the herbicide atrazine, and link them to changes in reproductive health and development. Endocrine disrupting toxic chemicals have been found to feminize male frogs and cause homosexual behavior. Ashley Ahearn reports on how these substances may be affecting human development and behavior.

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