It’s is great science when someone gets an unexpected result in an experiment and sets out to discover the reason. So it was that Dr Patricia Hunt, who studies genetics at Case Western Reserve University, tracked down the cause when her control group of mice showed up with unexpected cell damage. These mice were living quiet lives, cut off from all the usual chemicals then known to cause genetic damage. Yet they were falling ill. Testing everything, she found that some strong detergent used to clean their cages was causing the plastic to bubble. When she analysed these bubbles, she found them full of Bisphenol A (BPA). Injecting different groups of mice with different concentrations of BPA damaged the genetic quality of their cells. She announced her discovery in 1998 and, since then, the evidence shows that BPA along with a number of other chemicals in our environment can and do cause genetic damage. If this was limited to mice, we would not worry. Unfortunately, these chemicals affect humans as well. BPA is classified as an endocrine disruptor, i.e. it affects the way in which hormones are released and affect the body. If you were wondering why so many of our children are showing up with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the answer in part lies with the increasing levels of adrenaline pumping into their blood stream. Many have also been found to have high levels of BPA in their blood. Curiously, men working in factories manufacturing plastic and exposed to BPA are more likely to suffer erectile dysfunction and prostate cancer.

Some countries have been very fast to act, banning chemicals whenever they are suspected of causing damage to humans. Long lists of additives are banned from our food. Ten years ago, Japan banned the use of BPA in all products used by babies and infants. In 2010, France followed suit. Four individual US states have also banned BPA in plastic bottles used for drinks and food storage in the baby market. But the Federal Government has no plans to even limit the use of BPA. This leaves chemicals like BPA and the phthalates freely circulating in our environment. They are in almost everything we eat, drink and touch. This makes the human community one giant research experiment to discover the extent to which all these chemicals may cause cancers, heart disease and, more worryingly, reproductive problems.

Scientists monitoring the rate at which human reproduce have noticed a sharp decline in the sperm count. Although lifestyle changes explain some of the reduction in the birth rate, more babies are being born with genetic damage to their sexual organs and more adult men are experiencing erectile dysfunction and impotence. Working out cause and effect is always a challenge when you are talking about changes only observable over fifty years and more. So many different stimuli may interact and produce results. In the meantime, men with erectile dysfunction can continue sexual activity thanks to the development of viagra. It genuinely does enable men to enjoy hard and long-lasting erections. Unfortunately, even though you do buy viagra, it cannot treat the underlying causes of the dysfunction. That is always down to the skills of your doctor to diagnose the cause and find a treatment for it. With diabetes and heart disease, there are established treatments. Dealing with the cocktail of chemicals we eat and drink is a completely different matter.