/oss/taxonomy/term/540/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition/rats-people-and-bisphenol <p>Bisphenol A (BPA) first hit the headlines in 2008 when Canada banned polycarbonate baby bottles because of possible leaching of the chemical from the plastic into the contents. Concern had been raised because BPA was known to have hormone-like activity, placing it in the category of “endocrine disruptors.” Hormones are the body’s chemical messengers and are active in very small doses. Our pituitary gland, for example, produces only about 1 microgram of hormones a day, a very, very, small amount, yet it is critical to life.</p> Thu, 04 Nov 2021 15:48:59 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8914 at /oss /oss/article/health-videos/right-chemistry-bisphenol <p><div class="media-youtube-video media-element file-default media-youtube-1"> <iframe class="media-youtube-player" id="media-youtube-axsoticmqbo" width="640" height="390" title="Dr. Joe on bisphenol A" src="https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/aXsotiCmqbo?wmode=opaque&controls=&enablejsapi=1&modestbranding=1&playerapiid=media-youtube-axsoticmqbo&origin=https%3A//www.mcgill.ca&rel=0" name="Dr. Joe on bisphenol A" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen>Video of Dr. Joe on bisphenol A</iframe> </div> </p> Fri, 21 Feb 2020 17:35:24 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8135 at /oss /oss/article/health-news-quackery/fearsome-yellow <p>Next time you think of welcoming someone home by tying a yellow ribbon around an old oak tree, you might want to think again. According to a widely circulating report the yellow dye could leave a toxic residue on your hands. What are we talking about? PCBs. Actually one specific PCB, namely PCB-11. Polychlorinated biphenyls have become an environmental pariah, accused of being endocrine disruptors and carcinogens. Quite a comedown for chemicals that were once revered as ideal heat transfer fluids and insulating materials in electrical equipment.</p> Mon, 24 Mar 2014 02:56:31 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2117 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-environment-food-health-news-toxicity/are-environmental-chemicals-making-us-fat <p>We are getting fatter.  The World Health Organization estimates that a seventh of the world’s population is overweight and about 300 million people can now be classified as obese.  What’s going on?  The answer would appear to be pretty simple.  We are eating more and exercising less.  But that answer may be a tad too simple.  Some researchers maintain that our increased calorie intake and decreased calorie expenditure cannot account for the current “epidemic of obesity.”  We better have a look, they say, not only at the gluttonous amounts of processed foods we consume, but also at the packa</p> Sun, 09 Feb 2014 01:44:30 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2092 at /oss /oss/article/science-science-everywhere/how-chemicals-affect-us <p>A recent New York Times article featured the headline “How Chemicals Affect Us.” Even before reading a single word, I was pretty sure the columnist was not going to discuss how antibiotics cure infections, how preservatives protect us from eating moldy food or how detergents clean our clothes. I knew I’d be reading a litany of warnings about toxins, poisons and endocrine disruptors. Unfortunately, that’s what the term “chemical” has come to mean. To many, chemicals are the substances that insidiously invade our lives and shorten them. <a href="http://blogs.mcgill.ca/oss/2012/05/09/how-chemicals-affect-us/">Read more</a></p> Wed, 09 May 2012 20:33:11 +0000 Dr. Joe Schwarcz 1696 at /oss