Chemical in plastic containers makes male mice act like females

AFP

WASHINGTON — Male mice who were exposed as babies to BPA, a chemical common in canned foods and plastic containers, act more like females and are seen as less desirable mates, a US study showed Monday.

The findings could have implications for how BPA, or Bisphenol A, may affect human development and behavior, said the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

"The BPA-exposed deer mice in our study look normal; there is nothing obviously wrong with them.

Yet, they are clearly different," said lead author Cheryl Rosenfeld at the University of Missouri.

"Females do not want to mate with BPA-exposed male deer mice, and BPA-exposed males perform worse on spatial navigation tasks that assess their ability to find female partners in the wild."

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UK Drug Addicts Offered Cash to Submit to Sterilization

Giving a British drug addict cash incentives for sterilisation is ''exploitative, ethically dubious and morally questionable'', according to a leading drugs charity.

Nick Collins
Telegraph

Martin Barnes, chief executive of DrugScope, spoke out after the 38-year-old addict, identified only as John, was given £200 in exchange for a vasectomy.

John, who has been addicted to opiates for 15 years and has been involved with drugs since he was 11 or 12, said the cash incentive spurred him into going ahead with the procedure.

"It was something that I'd been thinking about for a long time and something that I'd already made my mind up that I wanted to do. Just hadn't got around to it," he said.


Mr Barnes said: ''It is a fundamental principle of the NHS constitution that all treatment should be both informed and consensual; we believe that offering cash incentives to often very poor and marginalised people in return for sterilisation runs directly counter to this.


''It is exploitative, ethically dubious and morally questionable.''

He said the premise that people with drug problems should be sterilised ''further entrenches the significant stigmatisation and demonisation experienced by this group, making it less likely that people will come forward for help and support when they need it most''.

''And where should the line be drawn?'' he asked.

''Potential parents experience a range of problems or circumstances which may present risks for the welfare of their babies and children.

''Who would be targeted next - people who smoke, have mental health problems, or live in poverty?
''Ensuring access to good quality treatment and welfare and safeguarding systems is the most effective, rational and humane approach to this complex issue, not sterilisation for cash.''

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