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Fertile Grounds for Inquiry: Environmental Effects on Human Reproduction Julia R. Barrett Abstract At a time when at least 80 million people worldwide are estimated to be affected by infertility, scientists are starting to look closely at how exposures to environmental substances may affect the ability of a couple to achieve a healthy pregnancy. Studies of wildlife and laboratory animals are helping to pin down how exposure to chemicals such as endocrine disruptors affects reproductive development, while human studies are looking at genetic effects, the effects of multicompound exposures, and the potential contribution of agricultural pesticides and persistent organic pollutants to problems such as low sperm counts and altered sex ratios. However, a thorough exploration of environmental effects on fertility will require the expertise of many different disciplines. PDF disponible en español Lea otros artículos en español visitando http://www.cienciaytrabajo.cl An erratum was published in Environ HealthPerspect 115:A187 (2007) . The full version of this article is available for free in HTML or PDF formats. |
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