John Stossel
  • November 17, 2009 03:01 PM EST by John Stossel

    Infant Boys: Stop Being So Girly

    “Mothers exposed to high levels of chemicals known as phthalates during pregnancy may have boys who are less likely to play with trucks and other male-typical toys or to play fight.”

    That’s from a new study by Dr. Shanna Swan of the University of Rochester Medical Center published in the International Journal of Andrology.

    Dr. Elizabeth Whelan of the American Council on Science and Health says:

    If this sounds absurdly unscientific to you, it's because it is …

    “Shanna Swan has made a career out of studying phthalates and trying to find reproductive effects from them,” says ACSH's Whelan, who has crossed swords with Dr. Swan on the subject before.

    “A few years ago she had a study that alleged to find a 'feminizing' effect on baby boys from phthalate exposure based on a metric she made up called 'anogenital distance,'” explains Dr.[Gilbert] Ross. “That study has since become part of the lore of anti-science groups who dislike phthalates. This latest study is equally horrendous. I could go through the article and say all the ways it is completely nonsensical, and we'd be here all morning, but I will mention that she reverts to her preferred strategy of using parameters that she admits she made up on the spot when she's watching these baby boys playing with toys.”

    “This is junk science at its worst,” adds Dr. Whelan. “And I'd just like to point out that Shanna Swan recently got a $5 million dollar grant from the EPA to continue with this terrible research.”

    Your tax dollars at work.

    I’m glad ASCH is around to call out the questionable science.

white tiger

Ah, yes! Another pseudo-scientist/grant recipient hard at "work"! Please don,t tell us how she structured her stats, or determined her "facts", as we are allergic to deception and wilfull ignorance, as well as malicious incompetence.

November 18, 2009 at 2:33 am

Dixie Meyers

Sounds like another well funded Medical Research Scam. Democrats say they have to go through these findings with a "fine tooth comb." They don't have to use a comb, it's staring them in the face! Democrats are so stupid. They creTe a lie to cover up the first lie, and wonder of wonders, they don't remember their lies! We need a Refund not Change. We need to Send The Obana Administration and Capital Hill, "Pink-Slips." and, make it a Law to Balance the Budget Every Year.

November 17, 2009 at 8:45 pm

J.P. Myers

Dr. Gilbert Ross fails to disclose that he served a year in jail for medical fraud. It's a matter of public record. His and Elizabeth Whelan's consistent dissembling about research on human health and chemical exposure should be actionable, also. Swan's research has been peer reviewed by scientists who know much more about these issues than Ross or Whelan, and who lack the blatant conflict of interest from which Ross and Whelan suffer because of their funding from industry.

November 17, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Chris

It's hard to get around the fact that phthalates antagonize testosterone receptors on the cell membrane. Hormones play a central role in development of the nervous system, which of course is forms basis of thoughts/desires/actions of the brain. Unless you think that membrane currents and the field of developmental neurobiology are somehow soft science..

November 17, 2009 at 8:21 pm

wildbiker

John, I'm thinking there's an emerging nexus here. Could it be Dr. Swan taught Vice President everything he knows about estimating jobs created or saved in non-existent Congressional districts?

November 17, 2009 at 4:53 pm

About this Web Site

  • John Stossel joined FOX Business and FOX News in October 2009. His show, Stossel, airs on the Fox Business Network on Thursdays at 8 p.m. ET

    He is the New York Times best-selling author of Give Me A Break and Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. His "Give Me a Break" commentaries take a skeptical look at a wide array of issues, such as education, the economy, parenting, and more.

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