I keep reading about how boys have a harder time at all levels
of school than girls. It turns out there may be more going on
than the commonly held argument that teaching styles are more
conducive to girls' success. Boys may also be at a biological
disadvantage — new research shows that their brains may be more
vulnerable to harm from pesticides. As a mom of an infant boy,
this has me seriously worried. Study after study has shown that
children’s IQs, memory and brain health are at risk from
exposure to pesticides.This latest study — from researchers at
Columbia University — concludes that among children exposed
prenatally to the insecticide chlorpyrifos, boys had more
problems with working memory than girls when tested at age 7.
Though having nurturing parents improved children’s working
memory (especially for boys), it did not lessen the overall
negative cognitive effects of exposure to the pesticide.
Chlorpyrifos was commonly used in homes until 2001, when it was
banned for home uses largely because of wel