MIT States That Half of All Children May be Autistic by 2025 due to Monsanto

[KamaAina]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by DonViejo (a host of the General Discussion forum).

http://www.laprogressive.com/monsanto-autism/

A senior scientist at MIT has declared that we are facing an epidemic of autism that may result in one half of all children being affected by autism in ten years.

Dr. Stephanie Seneff, who made these remarks during a panel presentation in Groton, Massachusetts, last week, specifically cites the Monsanto herbicide, Roundup, as the culprit for the escalating incidence of autism and other neurological disorders. Roundup, which was introduced in the 1970’s, contains the chemical glyphosate, which is the focal point for Seneff’s concerns. Roundup was originally restricted to use on weeds, as glyphosate kills plants. However, Roundup is now in regular use with crops. With the coming of GMO’s, plants such as soy and corn were bioengineered to tolerate glyphosate, and its use dramatically increased. From 2001 to 2007, glyphosate use doubled, reaching 180 to 185 million pounds in the U.S. alone in 2007....

It is this ability to affect gut bacteria that Seneff claims is the link which allows the chemical to get on board and wreak further damage. The connection between intestinal flora and neurological functioning is an ongoing topic of research. According to a number of studies, glyphosate depletes the amino acids tyrosine, tryptophan, and phenylalanine, which can then contribute to obesity, depression, autism, inflammatory bowel disease, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s....

Some individuals, such as M.D. and radio host Rima Laibow have speculated on the intentionality behind this ostensible chemical siege against our gray matter. Laibow believes that the impetus may be to create an entire class of autistic individuals who will be suited only for certain types of work.

"Certain types of work"? And what would those be? Community organizing and advocacy (yours truly)? Animal handling facility design (Temple Grandin)?

Besides, I didn't know Monsanto made vaccines. I probably should have posted this in Creative Speculation.

[Dont call me Shirley]

1. Interview on Thom Hartmann

http://www.thomhartmann.com/bigpicture/why-half-all-children-could-be-autistic-2025

[Jefferson23]

2. From Alternet, last year:

Meet the Controversial MIT Scientist Who Claims She Discovered a Cause of Gluten Intolerance

Stephanie Seneff is a senior research scientist at MIT. Based in the university’s Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Seneff’s focus is, according to her web page, “the intersection of biology and computation.” She is also, according to many in the science community, a "quack,” meaning a poseur at the business of science, and a practitioner of pseudoscience.

Since she began publishing papers on biology, in journals considered fringe by the mainstream scientific establishment, Seneff has posited explanations for a host of disorders, and drawn heated objections from experts in most every field she’s delved into. She is, in short, a controversial figure in the scientific community, which is an unusual position to occupy for someone with three degrees from MIT.

http://www.alternet.org/food/meet-controversial-mit-scientist-who-claims-have-discovered-cause-gluten-sensitivty

I never heard of her before, if you don't mind..if I find more about her..I will post it here.

[KamaAina]

3. Go for it!

I posted this as an example of hysterical woo around autism, like some of the anti-vax stuff. Some people really, really want to get rid of us!

[Jefferson23]

4. I agree, it is worrisome. I especially am concerned that she does hold the weight of MIT behind

her and it is hard to measure what percentage of people will not question her because of it.

Looks like in 2013 they were making claims. I would like to dig a bit deeper..see what comes
up.



Condemning Monsanto With Bad Science Is Dumb
Posted: 04/26/2013 12:51 pm EDT Updated: 06/26/2013 5:12 am EDT
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/tamar-haspel/condemning-monsanto-with-_b_3162694.html

[immoderate]

5. The problem is the assertions are plausible. Not likely, but plausible.

At least worthy of further investigation.

I'm dubious about the autism, per se. But I'm allowing that all the implications of GM in the body, the environment, the economy, haven't bee enumerated.

--imm

[Octafish]

6. Well endocrine disruption sounds like Star Trek and that means aliens on the moon.

Roundup: The “Nontoxic” Chemical that May Be Destroying our Health

Posted on October 30, 2013 by Stephanie Seneff, PhD • 1 Comment

According to Monsanto, producer of Roundup®, the most popular herbicide used on the planet, the product is nearly nontoxic for humans. The usage of Roundup to kill weeds has skyrocketed around the world since the year 2000, in part because it went off patent that year, but also because of the enormous increase (especially in the U.S.) in the appearance of “Roundup-Ready” GMO crops.4

Glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, kills weeds by interfering with what is called the shikimate pathway. This pathway is essential in plants for the synthesis of a class of amino acids called the “aromatics.” But this pathway is nonexistent in any mammalian cell. By simple logic, the fact that our cells don’t have this pathway means that glyphosate cannot harm us. Is there a fallacy in this argument?

GLYPHOSATE CONNECTION TO DISEASE

While mammals don’t possess the shikimate pathway, all of the microbes that take up residence in our digestive tract do have this pathway, and exposure to glyphosate, the active ingredient in Roundup, will cause them serious stress as a consequence. Studies have shown that glyphosate disrupts the gut bacteria in chickens, 54 cows,29 and pigs,10 causing inflammation in the gut along with an overgrowth of pathogenic forms and concurrent loss of beneficial bacteria. It is now becoming apparent that our gut bacteria, which outnumber our own cells by a factor of ten to one, play many important roles in supplying nutrients and protecting us from toxins.19 There’s also an intricate connection between the gut and the brain, such that an unhealthy digestive system translates into pathologies in the brain.35

Together with Anthony Samsel, I recently published a paper arguing that Roundup® could plausibly be the most important factor in the observed increase in a number of diseases and conditions like obesity and autism over the past two decades in the U.S.47 Despite spending nearly two and a half times as much on health care as our peer nations,36 the U.S. lags behind many of these other nations in basic metrics like infant mortality and life expectancy.34 The most recent figures for infant mortality place the U.S. at number forty-six, behind Cuba and Guam. Clearly we are doing something wrong, and our wholesale embrace of GMOs is an obvious candidate.

SNIP...

ENDOCRINE DISRUPTION: Glyphosate is an established endocrine disruptor16 and studies have shown it inhibits aromatase, a CYP enzyme that converts testosterone to estrogen.46 Aromatase is synthesized in the testes,32 and this may explain why autism is far more prevalent in males than in females. Autism is associated with aromatase deficiency, and some have attempted to explain autism as a “super male” syndrome on the basis of overproduction of testosterone and insufficient estrogen.3 Retinoic acid is intimately involved in embryonic development. Low doses of glyphosate caused many deformities in frog and chick embryos44 due to overexpression of retinoic acid. The enzyme that breaks down retinoic acid is a CYP enzyme, so its disruption would explain glyphosate’s effects. One can expect similar effects in humans. Fertility rates have been declining sharply in many countries where glyphosate usage is increasing. Most striking are countries in South America such as Argentina and Brazil. Women in Brazil used to have six children on average, but now the fertility rate is less than that of the U.S. Argentina’s fertility rate has been declining ever since 1978. Both Brazil and Argentina produce a significant amount of the world’s supply of soybeans—most of which are engineered to be “Roundup® Ready.” While it’s difficult to sort out the role played by social pressure, it is possible that glyphosate’s disruption of aromatase and retinoic acid could be a factor in declining fertility rates.

CONTINUED...

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/roundup-the-nontoxic-chemical-that-may-be-destroying-our-health/

Gee. That explains all the love for Monsanto from the smilie set.

[Jefferson23]

7. Glyphosate – The New Bogeyman

There is an ideological subculture that is motivated to blame all the perceived ills of the world on environmental factors and corporate/government malfeasance. Often this serves a deeper ideological drive, which can be anti-vaccine, extreme environmentalism, or anti-GMO. The latest environmental bogeyman making the rounds is glyphosate, which is being blamed for (you guessed it) autism.

Glyphosate is the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup. It has been widely used for about 40 years, and with the introduction of GM crops that are Roundup resistant, its use has increased significantly in the last 20 years. It has therefore become a popular target for anti-GMO fearmongering.

Glyphosate is one of the least toxic herbicides used. It inhibits the enzyme 5-enolpyruvylshikimic acid-3-phosphate synthase which interferes with the shikimic pathway in plants, resulting in the accumulation of shikimic acid in plant tissues and ultimately plant death. The enzyme and pathway do not exist in animals, which is why toxicity is so low. Still, chemicals can have multiple effects and so toxicity needs to be directly measured and its epidemiology studied.

A systematic review published on 2000 found:

Experimental evidence has shown that neither glyphosate nor AMPA bioaccumulates in any animal tissue. No significant toxicity occurred in acute, subchronic, and chronic studies.

http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/glyphosate-the-new-bogeyman/

Disclosure on source: Steven Paul Novella (born July 29, 1964) is an American clinical neurologist and assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine.[1] Novella is best known for his involvement in the skeptical movement.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Novella

[Sheepshank]

8. So, the autism rate isn't going down? Even after all thos missed, denied and delayed immunizations?

who'd a thunk?

[PSPS]

9. Seneff is a charlatan

Her degrees, all bestowed by MIT, are all outside any field related to medicine, biology or anything else related to these claims. She's done this kind of nonsense before. For example, in 2012, she asserted there was a link between aluminum compounds in vaccines and acetaminophen with autism.

Here's another tip that reliably indicates nonsense: "M.D. and radio host Rima Laibow have speculated on the intentionality behind this ostensible chemical siege against our gray matter." When you have a crackpot talk show promoting your "work," it's a joke.

[Jefferson23]

10. From Snopes: Glyphosatan

Claim: One in two children will be autistic by 2025 due to use of glyphosate on food crops.

Example: [Collected via e-mail, October 2014]

I've seen this same article floating around on Facebook and since I work with children with autism, I was hoping to check up on the veracity of this article:

Senior MIT Scientist Warns 1 In 2 Children Will Have Autism by 2025 The overuse of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide on our food is causing glyphosate toxicity and it is now being considered as the single most important factor in development of autism and other chronic disease. At a recent panel discussion about GMOs, a senior scientist has stated that one in two children will be autistic by 2025...

Thank you in advance, for your consideration.


Origins: On 23 December 2014, the website Alliance for Natural Health published an article titled "Half of All Children Will Be Autistic by 2025, Warns Senior Research Scientist at MIT." It described a dire prognostication made "at a conference" in early December by Stephanie Seneff, PhD (whose web biography described her as a "Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory," not an individual specializing in epidemiology.) The precise location, date, and general scope of the December 2014 conference in question was not disclosed in the article, but a reference was made to the general subject of genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

The headline's reference to looming autism diagnosis spikes was continued in the article's first line: "Evidence points to glyphosate toxicity from the overuse of Monsanto's Roundup herbicide." After describing Seneff's background in computer science, the article continued:

At a conference last Thursday, in a special panel discussion about GMOs, she took the audience by surprise when she declared, "At today's rate, by 2025, one in two children will be autistic." She noted that the side effects of autism closely mimic those of glyphosate toxicity, and presented data showing a remarkably consistent correlation between the use of Roundup on crops (and the creation of Roundup-ready GMO crop seeds) with rising rates of autism. Children with autism have biomarkers indicative of excessive glyphosate, including zinc and iron deficiency, low serum sulfate, seizures, and mitochondrial disorder.

The article conflated a number of unrelated claims and beliefs about autism and its causes, jumping from pesticides to vaccines and back again in the course of its travels. A 2014 USDA report issued in December 2014 about acceptable levels of pesticides (that made no mention at all of autism) was among the cited material:

In addition, as we have previously reported, the number of adverse reactions from vaccines can be correlated as well with autism, though Seneff says it doesn't correlate quite as closely as with Roundup. The same correlations between applications of glyphosate and autism show up in deaths from senility.

Of course, autism is a complex problem with many potential causes. Dr. Seneff's data, however, is particularly important considering how close the correlation is — and because it is coming from a scientist with impeccable credentials. Earlier this year, she spoke at the Autism One conference and presented many of the same facts; that presentation is available on YouTube.

Both the article and Seneff's biography mention work with the group AutismOne, a group of parents (not scientists) who've espoused the fervent belief autism is caused not by genetic factors but environmental contaminants. An About Us page on the AutismOne web site explains:

AutismOne is a non-profit charity organization 501(c)(3) started by a small group of parents of children with autism. Parents are and must remain the driving force of our community, the stakes are too high and the issues too sacred to delegate to outside interests. AUTISM IS A PREVENTABLE/TREATABLE BIOMEDICAL CONDITION. Autism is the result of environmental triggers. Autism is not caused by "bad" genes and the epidemic is not the result of "better" diagnosis. Children with autism suffer from gut bugs, allergies, heavy metal toxicity, mitochondrial disorders, antioxidant deficiencies, nutritional deficiencies and autoimmune diseases — all of which are treatable.

Notably, both Seneff and AutismOne appear to reject the accepted findings of science on the heretofore not fully understood causes of autism, namely in terms of genetics. The claim also deviates from mainstream science on whether autism is truly more prevalent or whether diagnostic criteria and awareness have caused the increase in the number of children diagnosed with the disorder each year. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) explained in a March 2014 autism surveillance summary it was difficult to rule out improved diagnostics as a factor in a perceived increase in autism across populations of children:

The global prevalence of autism has increased twentyfold to thirtyfold since the earliest epidemiologic studies were conducted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. At that time, prevalence estimates from European studies were one in 2,500 children in the population, and by the 2000s prevalence estimates from large surveys were 1%-2% of all children. Although the underlying reasons for the apparent prevalence changes are difficult to study empirically, select studies suggest that much of the recent prevalence increase is likely attributable to extrinsic factors such as improved awareness and recognition and changes in diagnostic practice or service availability.

Ultimately, the article stated Seneff made very specific claims at the December 2014 conference: that half of all children will be diagnosed with autism by 2025, and the perceived increase in the prevalence of autism is due to the use of glyphosate (an herbicide sold by Monsanto under the brand name Roundup) on crops.
From the information in the article, it appeared Seneff's claims rested on somewhat shaky foundations.

Regarding autism rates in 2025, the "50 percent of children" estimate looks to be a rudimentary extrapolation of an apparent uptick in autism diagnoses in recent years. Particularly if the cause of such an uptick is improvements in screening and access to diagnostics, it's just as likely the rate would plateau or even dip in the near future when considered by itself. No explanation was proffered (in the article, at least) to justify an affirmative belief the prevalence of autism would rise so drastically (and by that logic we might assume that by 2050, 125 percent of the population will be diagnosed with autism).

Even disregarding the sloppy mathematics, the claim's very basis (that glyphosate is the cause of a perceived increase in autism) is unsupported. No mention was made of how glyphosate was isolated and shown to be a cause (or even a factor) in some or any cases of autism in the article. No autism spikes near agricultural facilities were described, nor was any definitive causative link at all cited by the article (and presumably, Seneff) to back up the purported link between glyphosate and autism rates anywhere other than the imaginations of those making the claim. The single link of merit made within the article (to a USDA report) made absolutely no mention of autism at all but was misleadingly arranged to suggest a connection.

Read more at http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/glyphosate.asp#pWUPqXT25Z8zSbPp.99

[jberryhill]

11. MIT said that? I don't think so

I love the way how "MIT scientist speaking on topic entirely outside of her area of expertise" becomes "MIT says..."

MIT most definitely does not "say" anything in the article, which then proceeds with:

"A senior scientist at MIT has declared..."

Between "MIT" and "declared" it might be useful to point out that she is a senior scientist at the MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. She received the B.S. degree in Biophysics in 1968, the M.S. and E.E. degrees in Electrical Engineering in 1980, and the Ph.D degree in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science in 1985.

We all know what is causing autism:

[DonViejo]

12. Locking...

A consensus of host agree, this OP does not meet the standards of the SOP for the General Discussion Forum and recommend posting it in Creative Speculation.