Read the full article by Jade Walker (Depaul University)
“There are many factors that can influence a child’s development, including the physical environment where they grow up. Margaret Bell, associate professor of biological and health sciences, studies ‘forever chemicals,’ persistent chemical pollutants that can be found in water, food, indoor dust, furniture, and cookware, to understand how early life exposure can alter brain responses in adulthood.
Funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences, Bell and her students published research in the journal Neurotoxicology. The study focuses on polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), a group of industrial organic chemicals that are also considered environmental contaminants.
Through comparing development in exposed and unexposed brain cells, researchers were able to identify that the effects of PCBs manifest differently in youth, adolescence, and adulthood.” …