Pesticides Associated With Undescended Testicles.  In a study of boys in Finland and Denmark, researchers found that cryptorchidism is associated with exposures to a mixture of 8 persistent pesticides. These results are consistent with animal studies, and indicate that exposure to persistent organochlorine pesticides may adversely affect testicular descent in boys. EHP. 1 March 2006. http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=3908290&s=1092317

More Birth Defects Near Incinerator.  According to data from the Office of National Statistics, one in every 16 babies has a birth defect in rural mid Devon (UK), an area with a waste incinerator. Only 1 baby in 630 babies born in London's traffic-clogged Islington had a birth defect that same year.  http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=3908288&s=1092317.

 

Good Genes Gone Bad.  Traditionally, scientists have believed diseases and disabilities can be attributed to either genetics or the environment. New research, however, suggests that while we inherit our genes from our parents, the environment---incluing diet, experience and exposures to toxins---can alter how a specific gene behaves throughout life. Some environmental contaminants can interfere with gene expression, preventing genes from turning on when you need them, or turning off when they should be silent. An example of this is arsenic exposure . Experiments have shown than low levels of arsenic can prevent some genes from being turned on by hormones that control genes that are important for disease resistance, glucose metabolism and other vital processes. If these experiments cause the same processes in humans, arsenic exposure at low levels could prevent the body from fighting off tumor growth. This new understanding holds immense promise for public health. It means that we may be able to prevent those diseases and disabilities that are caused by an environmental assault on a gene. http://rd.bcentral.com/?ID=3908285&s=1092317 

Donate to:  http://www.birthdefects.org/default.htm 

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=78914&version=1&template_id=40&parent_id=22 

 

http://www.theeagle.com/stories/032806/health_20060328025.php 

 

NJ attorney general sues TruGreen ChemLawn - NEWARK, NJ - In February, the New Jersey attorney general and the
Division of Consumer Affairs (NJDCA) filed suit against TruGreen Limited Partnership (doing business as TruGreen ChemLawn) for violating the state's Consumer Fraud Act. The NJDCA says it received 68 complaints from TruGreen customers between 2000 and 2005.  "We allege that this lawn care company misled customers about its prices and charged customers for lawn treatments they did not request or authorize," said Attorney General Farber. "We are prepared to take
legal action whenever necessary to ensure that New Jersey consumers get a fair and honest deal."
http://www.landscapemanagement.net/landscape/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=314878

RESEARCH CENTERS, UN AGENCIES PARTNER TO SAVE SPECIES BY 2010 - CURITIBA, Brazil, March 28, 2006 (ENS) - To save life on Earth, some of the world’s top research centers and agencies specializing in biodiversity have signed on to a new alliance of cooperation with the UN Convention on Biological Diversity. Under the agreement, signed last night in Curitiba, where the CBD is holding its biannual meeting, the institutes will use their expertise and skills to help developing countries substantially reduce the rate of loss of biodiversity by the target date of 2010. http://www.ens-newswire.com

SHALLOW WATER SEAGRASS BEDS ARE VANISHING -  DURHAM, New Hampshire, March 28, 2006 (ENS) - Around the world, seagrass beds are in decline, says a scientist who has been studying the shallow water ecosystems for decades. As these underwater meadows disappear, so do commercially valuable shellfish and fish, waterfowl and other wildlife, water quality, and erosion prevention. http://www.ens-newswire.com

MAD COW DISEASE DYING OUT WORLDWIDE - ROME, Italy, March 28, 2006 (ENS) - Cases of mad cow disease worldwide are fewer year by year, according to two international agencies that specialize in surveillance of animal health. Cases of the fatal brain-wasting disease formally known as bovine spongiform encepalopathy (BSE), have been declining at the rate of some 50 percent a year over the past three years. http://www.ens-newswire.com

POLITICAL WILL DETERMINES FATE OF EARTH'S DIVERSE SPECIES - CURITIBA, Brazil, March 27, 2006 (ENS) - The preservation of biological diversity on the planet depends mainly on the political will of countries, especially the developed ones, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio da Silva told delegates from around the world gathered here for an international conference on halting the loss of species. http://www.ens-newswire.com

AUDUBON SOCIETY NAMES AMERICA'S 10 MOST ENDANGERED BIRDS - WASHINGTON, DC, March 27, 2006 (ENS) - The ivory-billed woodpecker and the California condor top the list of America's 10 most endangered birds issued today by the National Audubon Society. The 100 year old conservation group says it is reporting on the survival of the nation's rarest bird species to show how heavily they depend upon the Endangered Species Act, which is now itself endangered.           http://www.ens-newswire.com

QUEENSLANDERS START TO RECOVER FROM CYCLONE LARRY - INNISFAIL, Queensland, Australia, March 27, 2006 (ENS) - One week after Cyclone Larry swept across Far North Queensland, hundreds of residents still are homeless, but relief efforts and neighborly generosity are beginning to alleviate the devastation. The category 5 cyclone struck Innisfail, population 8,500, a coastal sugar cane and banana farming town that is a starting point for visitors to this area of the Great Barrier Reef. http://www.ens-newswire.com

 

http://independent-bangladesh.com/news/mar/27/27032006mt.htm 

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/magazine/story/0,,1738134,00.html