1. Environmental Health Sciences

2. www.EnvironmentalHealthNews.org Environmental Health Sciences John Peterson Myers, Ph.D. On the cusp of a revolution: Public health and the environment

3. Environmental Health Sciences Profound changes in how we think about links between contamination and human health. Public Health Science Mid-stream in a scientific revolution Dramatic opportunities for protecting the public’s health

4. Environmental Health Sciences Elements of the revolution They are linked through science to a growing array of health impacts We’ve shown we can do this… we can do more and even better Some contaminants have effects at low exposure levels This new science opens the door to new approaches to protecting our health: reduce and substitute

5. Environmental Health Sciences New public health science Moving toward a tipping point New materials science

6. Environmental Health Sciences …but we’re not there yet Lack of public awareness Lack of political support Problems with communication strategies, tools and skills Highly motivated opposition Moving toward a tipping point

7. Environmental Health Sciences The genetic basis of many human diseases Roots of the revolution ????

8. Environmental Health Sciences What we get from our parents Two ways to think about genes Chemical manufacturing machines …nature’s nanotechnology

9. Environmental Health Sciences Adipocyte genes C/EBPα C/EBPβ PPAR γ 422/aP2 SCD1 GLUT4 Ob gene Experiments with 3T3-LI pre-adipocytes P-CREB

10. Environmental Health Sciences Changes in gene expression Mother’s diet altered gene expression Mother’s exposure altered gene expression Jirtle et al. 2004 Newbold 2005

11. Environmental Health Sciences Other genes and signals they send What changes gene expression? Stress Diet Experience Environmentalcontaminants Heredity “Classic Genetics” “Classic Environment”

12. Environmental Health Sciences Genetics vs. Environment

13. CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS Old… a disease that is linked to genes is a disease under hereditary control. New… a disease linked to genes is one vulnerable to environmental causes.

14. Environmental Health Sciences CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS Old… toxins work by overwhelming the body’s defenses…by brute force. New… toxic compounds work by hijacking control of gene expression.

15. Environmental Health Sciences CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS New… impacts at everyday levels… levels people had become accustomed to calling “normal,” background levels… levels that couldn’t be measured 20 yrs ago. Old… only high levels matter

16. Environmental Health Sciences Everyday levels matter At truly low levels … it interferes with gene activation At high levels… arsenic kills people At moderately low levels… it causes a range of diseases Kaltreider et al. 2002

17. Environmental Health Sciences Everyday levels matter Bisphenol A ng/g/day 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 C’trol220 Prostate Weight (mg) ** Nagel et al. 1997 Timms et al. 2005

18. Environmental Health Sciences Everyday levels matter 95% of Americans Quesada et al. 2003 Wozniak et al. 2005

19. Environmental Health Sciences Everyday levels matter Large risks associated with phthalate levels to which 25% of American women are exposed Altered genital development in baby boys Swan et al. 2005

20. Environmental Health Sciences CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS New…low levels: it’s about me and my family Old… high levels focuses attention on “them” …hugely important politically

21. Environmental Health Sciences CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS Old… the dose makes the poison New… timing is crucial, individual variation in susceptibility important, and low doses can have effects not predicted by high dose studies.

22. Environmental Health Sciences P-450 1A1 ( CYP1A1) Variation in susceptibility Variation in susceptibility Zhang et al. 2004 Conventional wisdom: After many studies and metastudies, PCBs are not linked to breast cancer

23. Environmental Health Sciences CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS Old… immediate cause and effect New… long latencies following developmental exposure. Fetal programming can cause life-long impacts

24. Environmental Health Sciences Fetal programming …fetal origins of adult diseases APP gene: APP gene: amyloid precursor protein Basha et al. 2005

25. Environmental Health Sciences Transgenerational impacts Anway et al. 2005

26. Environmental Health Sciences CONCEPTUAL SHIFTS Old… take chemicals one at a time New… essential to consider the mixtures in which they always occur Mixtures of contaminants Mixtures with body chemistry Mixtures with other factors

27. Environmental Health Sciences Bullfrogs, danger and carbaryl 46x Relyea 2003

28. Environmental Health Sciences Bad news, good news Bad news… Widespread exposure to compounds that interfere with gene expression, sometimes at extremely low levels. Today’s epidemiology cannot be trusted to find real effects with these complications

29. Environmental Health Sciences Bad news, good news Good news… A disease under genetic control may be one caused by environmental exposures. We will have the opportunity to prevent many diseases that heretofore have not been perceived as preventable.

30. Environmental Health Sciences The science is just going to get stronger… Studies just published Results headed to print Research underway Bad news, good news Good news…

31. Environmental Health Sciences Bad news, good news Good news… A disease under genetic control may be one caused by environmental exposures. We have shown with lead and POPs that society can decrease exposures once it reaches political consensus

32. Environmental Health Sciences Next challenge Incorporating this scientific revolution into a new generation of precautionary health standards Providing green chemistry new design criteria and resources for needed research Creating consumer awareness that will reward entrepreneurs

33. Environmental Health Sciences

34. Today’s epidemics Hormone-related cancers Learning disabilities, ADHD Pre-term birth Obesity Asthma Degenerative diseases Infertility Endometriosis, autoimmunity Autism

35. Environmental Health Sciences