Wednesday, May 09, 2007
BIRTH MONTH SHOCK
May 9, 2007 -- Spring babies may be less intelligent, startling new research shows.
A study of more than 1.6 million elementary and high school kids between 8 and 15 found those conceived in May through August scored lower on math and language tests than children conceived during other months.
Dr. Paul Winchester of the Indiana University School of Medicine, who presented results this week at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, blamed environmental villains.
Higher levels of pesticides and nitrates can be found in surface water during the summer months, he noted.
"Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal milieu of the pregnant mother and the developing fetal brain," he said.
"The pesticides we use to control pests in fields and our homes and the nitrates we use to fertilize our crops and even our lawns are at their highest level in summer."
Read the rest....
A study of more than 1.6 million elementary and high school kids between 8 and 15 found those conceived in May through August scored lower on math and language tests than children conceived during other months.
Dr. Paul Winchester of the Indiana University School of Medicine, who presented results this week at the annual meeting of the Pediatric Academic Societies, blamed environmental villains.
Higher levels of pesticides and nitrates can be found in surface water during the summer months, he noted.
"Exposure to pesticides and nitrates can alter the hormonal milieu of the pregnant mother and the developing fetal brain," he said.
"The pesticides we use to control pests in fields and our homes and the nitrates we use to fertilize our crops and even our lawns are at their highest level in summer."
Read the rest....
Labels: environment, pesticides
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