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[Gene GeRue <genegerue AT ruralize.com>]

Well, I suppose the good news here is that this may solve the  
population explosion. Again, Nature bats last.


It's official: Men really are the weaker sex

Evolution is being distorted by pollution, which damages genitals and  
the ability to father offspring, says new study. Geoffrey Lean reports

Sunday, 7 December 2008

The male gender is in danger, with incalculable consequences for both  
humans and wildlife, startling scientific research from around the  
world reveals.

The research – to be detailed tomorrow in the most comprehensive  
report yet published – shows that a host of common chemicals is  
feminising males of every class of vertebrate animals, from fish to  
mammals, including people.
Backed by some of the world's leading scientists, who say that it  
"waves a red flag" for humanity and shows that evolution itself is  
being disrupted, the report comes out at a particularly sensitive time  
for ministers. On Wednesday, Britain will lead opposition to proposed  
new European controls on pesticides, many of which have been found to  
have "gender-bending" effects.

It also follows hard on the heels of new American research which shows  
that baby boys born to women exposed to widespread chemicals in  
pregnancy are born with smaller penises and feminised genitals.

"This research shows that the basic male tool kit is under threat,"  
says Gwynne Lyons, a former government adviser on the health effects  
of chemicals, who wrote the report.

Wildlife and people have been exposed to more than 100,000 new  
chemicals in recent years, and the European Commission has admitted  
that 99 per cent of them are not adequately regulated. There is not  
even proper safety information on 85 per cent of them.

Many have been identified as "endocrine disrupters" – or gender- 
benders – because they interfere with hormones. These include  
phthalates, used in food wrapping, cosmetics and baby powders among  
other applications; flame retardants in furniture and electrical  
goods; PCBs, a now banned group of substances still widespread in food  
and the environment; and many pesticides.

The rest of the article may be found at:

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/its-official-men-really-are-the-weaker-sex-1055688.html