BPA plastic chemicals in the womb have been found to be linked with higher levels of autism
Another vastly over-hyped headline in pursuit of the jihad against BPA. The article itself (below) is moderately sane, with large reservations expressed. e.g.:
“I do want to stress it’s not the cause of autism,”
"if the BPA-autism link was causal in nature"
"may be consistent with autism spectrum disorder,”
And in the journal article we read that effects were observed
"only in males with low aromatase genetic pathway activity scores"
So there is NO evidence that BPA is generally harmful in humans
The journal article is:
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48897-8
Boys with lower levels of a key brain enzyme who are born to mothers with higher levels of plastic chemicals in their wombs are six times more likely to develop autism by the time they are a teenager, a world-first Australian study has found.
A decade-long study by the Florey Institute has for the first time established a biological pathway between the plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA), which is found in food and drink containers, cosmetics and packaging, and autism spectrum disorder.
“BPA can disrupt hormone-controlled male fetal brain development in several ways, including silencing this key enzyme, aromatase, that controls neurohormones and is especially important in fetal male brain development,” study co-author Anne-Louise Ponsonby said. “This appears to be part of the autism puzzle.”
BPA is a chemical that is added to plastics to make them more malleable and durable. It is virtually impossible to avoid in daily life.
Several previous studies have posited a link between it and autism, but the Florey study is the first long-term research incorporate human studies to examine the interplay between prenatal BPA, aromatase function and the development of autism in a large cohort of mothers and babies.
Florey researchers have found evidence of higher levels of the plastic chemical bisphenol A (BPA) in pregnant mothers who gave birth to sons with autism. Research published in Nature Communications, led by Florey scientists Dr Wah Chin Boon and…
The peer-reviewed Florey research, published in Nature Communcations, found that the link between BPA in mothers and autism in children was particularly evident in the top quarter of boys in the cohort with an inherent vulnerability to the endocrine-disrupting properties of BPA plastics – those with lower levels of the enzyme aromatase.
The researchers studied 1770 children over 10 years from two cohorts of mothers and children in the Barwon Infant Study in Australia and the Columbia Centre for Children’s Health and Environment in the US, finding that boys in this group who were born to mothers with higher urinary BPA levels in late pregnancy were 3½ times more likely to have autism symptoms by the age of two, and six times more likely to have a verified autism diagnosis by age 11.
“I do want to stress it’s not the cause of autism,” Professor Ponsonby said. “Autism is a multi-factorial disease, and it’s going to have a range of genetic and other drivers. So this is a contributing factor in some cases.”
In the two large birth cohorts studied, it was established that higher BPA levels in pregnant mothers were associated with epigenetic changes, or gene switching which suppressed the aromatase enzyme. As well as establishing the link in humans, Florey scientist and co-author Wah Chin Boon was also able to establish for the first time the biochemical pathway in which BPA suppressed aromatase in laboratory mice studies.
“We found that BPA suppresses the aromatase enzyme and is associated with anatomical, neurological and behavioural changes in the male mice that may be consistent with autism spectrum disorder,” Dr Boon said.
“This is the first time a biological pathway has been identified that might help explain the connection between autism and BPA.”
Autism affects between 1 and 2 per cent of all children in Western countries and the prevalence is on the rise.
Professor Ponsonby said that the findings indicated that among boys in the general population with a greater inherent vulnerability to the effects of endocrine disruptors, about 10 per cent of autism diagnoses may potentially be able to be prevented by BPA avoidance if the BPA -autism link was causal in nature.
Aromatase has been described as “a master controller of steroid hormone-directed brain development” and is responsible in the brain for converting the hormone testosterone to neuroeostrogen.
“Aromatase is more important in male brain development,” Professor Ponsonby said. “These finding may explain some of the male excess observed in autism.”
In lab studies, the Florey has also for the first time identified a possible “antitode” to this process – a type of fatty acid that when injected in mice was found to reverse the disruption of aromatase.
The scientists posited that the fatty substance, which is a major lipid component of the royal jelly of honeybees, may be able to correct a deficiency in aromatase-dependent estrogen signalling in the brain. They say this potential antidote warrants further study.
BPA is a chemical used in the lining of some food and beverage packaging to protect food from contamination and extend shelf life. Small amounts of BPA can migrate into food and beverages from containers. Tiny amounts of the chemical can enter the skin via clothes and cosmetics, and it can also be inhaled in things like paint fumes.
In 2010, the Australian government announced a voluntary phase-out of BPA use in polycarbonate baby bottles.
Food Standards Australia New Zealand recent said that when food safety authorities around the world reviewed BPA “they have generally concluded there are no safety concerns at the levels people are exposed to”.
However, last year the European Food Safety Authority published a re-evaluation of the risks to public health from the presence of BPA in food.
It concluded the tolerable daily intake for BPA should be substantially reduced from the temporary value it had previously established in 2015.
Australia’s regulator says it has “considered EFSA’s re-evaluation of BPA and has reservations about the approach taken”.
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Do women vote for women, and do Cat Ladies vote for Mamalas?
The US Democrats have made a high-stakes bet on securing the female vote by choosing Kamala Harris as their candidate. But is this how voting preferences work?
A week since Kamala’s nomination, US politics has revolved around diversity and a gender-focused narrative.
Kamala has tried to appeal to diversity and, most importantly, her identity as a woman. Almost immediately after her endorsement, she aligned herself with various women-led political groups such as the National Organisation for Women (NOW), the National Women’s Political Caucus, She Should Run, Higher Heights, Run Sister Run, Women for American Values and Ethics (WAVE), and Her Bold Move, Win With Black Women, the list goes on.
Kamala has gone out of her way to appeal to particularly left-leaning women. She even participated in a ‘white women’ Zoom call, despite not being white herself. This call was mockingly dubbed ‘Karens for Kamala’ by actress Connie Britton. Adding to Kamala’s gender narrative, a video from May has surfaced showing Drew Barrymore almost begging Kamala to be a ‘Mamala’ of the country.
If Kamala’s only offering against the Trump-Vance team is her gender, the outlook for her election is grim. A large body of academic research from the UK, Europe, and the US showed that women would not vote for women merely based on gender.
Kamala’s initial instinct to appeal to similarities between herself and the electorate was correct. Indeed, voting preferences are better explained by the match in socio-economic characteristics. For example, individuals from lower socio-economic backgrounds tend to prefer candidates who also grew up in tougher conditions.
However, this logic does not apply to gender. Analysis of voting behaviour published by British scientists shows that the impact of gender is either mixed or non-existent. European researchers who looked into the so-called gender voting gap indicate that women voted slightly more conservatively before the 1970s and slightly more left afterwards. These studies also note that this gender gap in voting is more accurately explained by socio-economic characteristics.
There is no solid evidence that women vote for women simply because they are women. In reality, successful college-educated women, whom Kamala desperately tries to appeal to, have more in common with Vance than Kamala. Vance is self-made, and ambitious, and went first to Ohio University and then to the prestigious Yale. Hence, they are more likely to vote for the Trump and Vance team.
Whether Kamala reconsidered her strategy on the female vote or decided to double down on gender politics, her next move was to portray Vance as someone who hates women. She tried a similar tactic with Trump, claiming she knew ‘his kind’ from her work as a prosecutor but quickly shifted focus to targeting Vance to destabilise the team.
The Democrats have had to dig back three years to find something remotely controversial about Vance. His comments about ‘cat ladies’ became a political bombshell. CNN’s political commentator SE Cupp went so far as to suggest that Vance wanted to ‘punish’ childless women and not just hate them.
What Vance had actually said was that a disproportionate number of decision-makers in the Democratic party do not have families, which is unrepresentative of the American population. He questioned whether it is appropriate for so many politicians to lack family values. This will be a campaign point in the contest between the Trump team and Kamala Harris.
While Kamala is a stepmother of two, she has no children of her own.
While Kamala campaigns on being a ‘woman’, the Republicans it seems will campaign on motherhood.
Ironically, Kamala’s campaign might play into the Republican’s hands. It is the left who often shame stay-at-home mothers and any female life choices other than prioritising career over family. It is the left that allows men into female changing rooms and other safe spaces. Anyone questioning this state of affairs is subject to being cancelled and labelled an intolerant misogynist, regardless of gender. The real question is not whether Kamala wins the female vote, but whether women win by voting for Kamala.
https://www.spectator.com.au/2024/08/do-women-vote-for-women-and-do-cat-ladies-vote-for-mamalas/
************************************************************Thousands of police on standby as UK riots spread
Brits do NOT like the flood of third-world immigrants into their country-- and some are un-British enough to make that clear
Thousands of riot police have been put on standby in the UK as violent far-right protests spread across the country.
Nightly riots, during which mosques and migrant targets have been attacked, have erupted in English towns and cities since three children were murdered on July 29.
Police were steeling themselves for more than 100 demonstrations linked to the disorder on Wednesday night local time, including possible counter-protests by anti-fascist activists. Courts have ordered jail terms for offenders as authorities seek to head off new troubles.
Immigration lawyers and buildings hosting asylum seekers are primary targets for far-right agitators, according to posts on messaging app Telegram leaked to the British media.
The government has said 6,000 specialist police are on standby to deal with the disorder, which has seen almost 430 people arrested and at least 120 charged, according to latest police figures.
The violence broke out after girls aged nine, seven and six were killed [by a black] and five more children critically injured during a knife attack at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class in Southport, northwest England.
False rumours initially spread on social media saying the attacker was a Muslim asylum seeker. The suspect was later identified as 17-year-old Axel Rudakubana, born in Wales. UK media reported that his parents are from Rwanda.
Despite the police statement, initial disturbances in Southport centred around a mosque, and widespread violence has rocked England and Northern Ireland since.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer has warned anyone involved will face “the full force of the law”, including those inciting violence online.
Starmer, a former chief state prosecutor, has pledged “substantive sentencing before the end of this week” for the rioters.
Scores of accused, including teenagers, have already appeared before judges. – ‘Tip of the iceberg’ – On Wednesday, a man was jailed for three years after he pleaded guilty to violent disorder and assaulting an emergency worker in Southport.
Two other men received sentences of 20 months and 30 months for participating in violence in Liverpool on Saturday.
“The three men sentenced today are the tip of the iceberg, and just the start of what will be a very painful process for many who foolishly chose to involve themselves in violent unrest,” said prosecutor Jonathan Egan.
Britain’s worst unrest since the 2011 London riots, has led a number of countries to warn citizens about travelling in the UK.
The rioting has seen demonstrators throw bricks and flares at police officers, burn cars and attack mosques and at least two hotels that have been used for asylum seekers.
The government, only one month old, has vowed to take a tough line on the unrest and has freed up an extra 500 prison places.
Police have blamed the disorder on figures associated with the now-defunct English Defence League (EDL), a far-right Islamophobic organisation founded 15 years ago, whose supporters have been linked to football hooliganism.
EDL founder Tommy Robinson has been accused by authorities of stoking tensions, and police in Cyprus, where he was reported to be on holiday, said Wednesday they were ready to assist UK police if needed.
However, Robinson later wrote on the X social media platform: “Lucky I’m not in Cyprus then”.
The rallies have been advertised on far-right social media channels under the banner “Enough is enough”.
UK politicians have accused social media sites of fuelling the violence. Tech billionaire Elon Musk has angered the government with a series of provocative tweets, including that a British “civil war is inevitable”.
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Tim Walz’s Church Doesn’t Like To Call God ‘Him,’ Supports Reparations And Pride Parades
Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz attends a church that preaches beliefs related to gender, race and sexuality that many Christian denominations strongly oppose.
Walz, who is the governor of Minnesota, identified Pilgrim Lutheran Church in St. Paul as his parish during a 2020 briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials published by Pilgrim Lutheran Church instruct parishioners not to refer to God using male pronouns, push congregants to support reparation funds, encourage them to celebrate Ramadan and include a modified gender-neutral version of the Lord’s Prayer, among other liberal practices.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church is part of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA), a mainline protestant denomination that has been criticized by some conservative Christians for ordaining transgender and lesbian bishops as well as for its embrace of LGBT ideology. (RELATED: Kamala Harris Announces Tim Walz Will Be Running Mate)
“The ELCA is, broadly speaking, a liberal American mainline Protestant denomination,” Jonah Wendt, a policy adviser for Mike Pence’s Advancing American Freedom and a member of the Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “They reject the inerrancy of scripture, ordain women to the pastoral office [and] hold what many would believe to be unbiblical views on abortion and homosexual behavior.”
Pilgrim Lutheran Church in 2015 approved “guidelines for language in worship” wherein the congregation asserted that “a patriarchal culture gave birth to the writing of scripture and the selection of the canon” and, to rectify the purported injustice, committed to using gender-neutral language to describe God. Members of the church, for instance, are encouraged to “choose non-anthropomorphic language” like “hen” or “baker” to refer to God, and urged “not to limit these by following them with male or female pronouns.”
The guidelines instruct parishioners to refer to God using titles that signal actions but don’t imply gender, like “advocate” or “healer.” Walz’s church also uses a modified version of the Lord’s Prayer, beginning with “Our Guardian, Our Mother, Our Father in heaven” instead of the traditional “Our Father who art in heaven.”
“This approach certainly runs contrary to scripture,” Wendt told the DCNF. “Throughout the Bible, God chooses to use male pronouns and we should take God at his word. I’d hope that any Christian, Lutheran or not, would flee from a pastor or church body that decides to change how they represent who God is to fit their own political agenda.”
During the racial unrest following the death of George Floyd in 2020, Walz’s church encouraged its parishioners to hit the streets and protest for racial justice, according to a social media post from Pilgrim Lutheran. The church directed its members to vigils and marches to protest the death of Floyd as well as to “come hear community updates on uprising/riots, how we can support our neighbors and how to pray particularly for our neighborhood.”
Walz faced criticism over his handling of the Floyd riots as he failed to deploy the Minnesota National Guard to Minneapolis the day its mayor and police chief requested help to quell the intensifying looting and arson that was racking the city, the New York Times reported. Damages in Minneapolis from the riot totaled $107 million, with over 1,000 buildings being burned or damaged, according to the Minnesota Reformer.
“It was obvious to me that he froze under pressure, under a calamity, as people’s properties were being burned down,” Republican Minnesota State Senator Warren Limmer recently told the NYT.
Racial justice is a major focus of Pilgrim Lutheran Church, with the congregation also pushing its members to donate to a reparation fund housed by a local nonprofit to provide housing stipends to black residents in St. Paul so that the predominantly white congregation could “atone” for their role in systemic racism.
“We white citizens and congregants have been complicit in the systematic exclusion of Black, Indigenous, Immigrant and other People of Color from full participation in and benefit from the common good,” a statement from the church reads. “We lament the suffering caused by our racism. We endeavor to live more fully a Gospel commitment to love our neighbors as ourselves by listening well, changing our hearts and partnering with our neighbors in building an antiracist community of justice where all may thrive.”
Walz signed a bill in 2023 that sent money to communities purportedly harmed by marijuana criminalization, the Star Tribune reported. A Democratic state legislator who sponsored the bill called it “a form of reparation.”
The Pilgrim Advocates for Racial Equity team was responsible for drafting the church’s reparations program. A similar team, the Pilgrim Racial Justice Task Force, hosted a two-part forum on “white privilege” in October 2019, according to a social media post.
Democratic vice presidential candidate Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz speaks during a campaign rally. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)
Walz’s church has also promoted dozens of pieces of leftist literature to help its parishioners become “antiracist.” The 1619 Project, which teaches that America is fundamentally racist, was among the titles highlighted.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church also takes a liberal stance on issues of sexuality and gender by sending its members to march at gay pride parades, working to amplify the “voices of women and nonbinary/gender non-conforming individuals,” having gender-neutral restrooms and celebrating “coming out day,” among other initiatives.
Walz signed a bill in April 2023 that empowered the state of Minnesota to revoke custody from parents who deny their children sex changes, hormone replacement or cosmetic surgeries, among other interventions.
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, much like Walz himself, positions itself as an ally of the Islamic community by encouraging its congregants through its now-defunct Twitter account to attend meals celebrating the Muslim holy day of Ramadan and by providing them signs to paste in their windows wishing those around them a “Blessed Ramadan.”
Walz regularly attends Muslim religious meals and has spoken at events hosted by local chapters of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, according to the National Catholic Register.
“Satan wants to do everything in his power to separate Christians from the one true faith,” Wendt said. “Many mainline protestant denominations in America have fallen prey to the spirit of the age and are willing to make any concession necessary to stay in line with an ever changing culture.”
Walz’s office, the Harris campaign and Pilgrim Lutheran Church did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.
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All my main blogs below:
http://jonjayray.com/covidwatch.html (COVID WATCH)
http://dissectleft.blogspot.com (DISSECTING LEFTISM)
http://edwatch.blogspot.com (EDUCATION WATCH)
http://antigreen.blogspot.com (GREENIE WATCH)
http://australian-politics.blogspot.com (AUSTRALIAN POLITICS)
http://snorphty.blogspot.com (TONGUE-TIED)
https://immigwatch.blogspot.com (IMMIGRATION WATCH)
http://jonjayray.com/short/short.html (Subject index to my blog posts)
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Kristina Pimenova, once said to be the most beautiful girl in the world. Note blue eyes and blonde hair
Bliss: What every woman wants: to feel safe and secure in the arms of her man. Robert Irwin and Rorie Buckey. See
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