The Estrogen Effect

The Estrogen Effect: Assault on the Male Video: BBC, 53 minutes 1. What was the problem(s) displayed by the Lake Apopka alligators? 2. What problems (2) were found within the European human male population? 3. What are Sertoli cells? (Where are they found and what is their function)? 4. What long term effects did the male offspring of DES treated mothers present? 5. What was the source of the xenoestrogens in Lake Apopka? 6. What are xenoestrogens? 7. At about the same time what was happening within the European fish populations? 8. What percentage of England’s domestic water comes from sewage laden low land rivers? 9. What seems to be the link between accelerated growth in breast cancer tissue cultures and plastics? 10. What is the name of this chemical? What are some of its uses? 11. Does filtering remove xenoestrogens from the water? 12. How does collaboration move science forward? Give an example from this film. 13. Will environmental changes brought about by humans eventually destroy the potential for males of all species to reproduce? Explain.

KEY 1. What was the problem(s) displayed by the Lake Apopka alligators? Feminization: reduced penises; production of female hormones by their testes. 2. What problems (2) were found within the European human male population? Malformed sperm; low sperm counts; testicular cancer; malformed male gentalia (Testicular non descent) 3. What are Sertoli cells? (Where are they found and what is their function)? “Nursery cells”; they help produce sperm. 4. What long term effects did the male offspring of DES treated mothers present? Malformed sperm; low sperm counts; testicular cancer; malformed male gentalia (Testicular non descent) l 5. What was the source of the xenoestrogens in Lake Apopka? Calfane pesticide 6. What are xenoestrogens? Compounds that mimic estrogen’s effects 7. At about the same time what was happening within the European fish populations? Feminization of male fish…. 8. What percentage of England’s domestic water comes from sewage laden low land rivers? 30 % 9. What seems to be the link between accelerated growth in breast cancer tissue cultures and plastics? A compound in the plastic in cancer tissue culture tubes. 10. What is the name of this chemical? What are some of its uses? Nonyl-phenol 11. Does filtering remove xenoestrogens from the water? No.

12. How does collaboration move science forward? Give an example from this film. Disparate data can be compared and possibly, a common link to both data sets can emerge – one that can explain both. Low sperm count data and malformed wildlife are probably linked through the effects of xenoestrogens. 13. Will environmental changes brought about by humans eventually destroy the potential for males of all species to reproduce? Explain. Possibly these xenoestrogens will build up to the levels that all males are feminized to the degree that they can not reproduce.