My main professional background is in the earth & life sciences, but I now also explore topics in the broad area of bioethics. That's about equality, fairness, justice, diversity and inclusivity. It's also about people's biases, the associated otherization and everything that this can result in. That includes poverty, homelessness and poor health, shabby looks and shrinking personal bubbles, exposure to chemical and noise pollution and lots more. It's also about law, philosophy, neuroscience, technology, forensic psychology, politics and public policy (governance). Diversity and inclusivity are much bigger challenges than I used to believe. I for example now think that society's lack of genuine acceptance and support for people whose brains work very differently can among other things result in destructive behaviours for which the forensic psychology terminology is sadistic stalking or resentful stalking. My own experiences on the receiving end of something like this caused me to start looking into personality disorders and neurodiversity. That is how I stumbled upon bioethics. Seeing the massive inequality in England had something to do with it too. No, I don't have all the answers. Do you?
STAT: “President Trump announced on Monday that his administration has concluded that some cases of autism may be linked to pregnant women’s use of acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, and said the medication should be used sparingly and only if absolutely needed during pregnancy.
Flanked by the nation’s top health officials at the White House, Trump outlined a dramatic overhaul to health agencies’ approach to autism.”
Tylenol has nothing to do with autism as far as scientists know at this point. Anti-epileptic drugs taken during pregnancy may play a role, however.
Robert Klitzman: “Environmental factors also play roles, including a mother’s obesity, older age, diabetes caused by pregnancy, polycystic ovary syndrome, and exposures to various pesticides and infections. Intracytoplasmic Sperm Injection (or “ICSI”), used as part of in-vitro fertilization, injects sperm directly into eggs to increase the odds of fertilization. It was developed and intended for use with men with low sperm counts, but it is now used in most IVF. It turns out to double the rate of intellectual disabilities and autism in the offspring.”Nicolas Joncour: https://i-asc.org/our-team/nicolas-joncour/ (who he is and what he does)Continue reading →
