Ideas worth spreading

The toxic baby

625,303 views | Tyrone Hayes + Penelope Jagessar Chaffer • TEDWomen 2010

Filmmaker Penelope Jagessar Chaffer was curious about the chemicals she was exposed to while pregnant: Could they affect her unborn child? So she asked scientist Tyrone Hayes to brief her on one he studied closely: atrazine, a herbicide used on corn. (Hayes, an expert on amphibians, is a critic of atrazine, which displays a disturbing effect on frog development.) Onstage together at TEDWomen, Hayes and Chaffer tell their story.

Filmmaker Penelope Jagessar Chaffer was curious about the chemicals she was exposed to while pregnant: Could they affect her unborn child? So she asked scientist Tyrone Hayes to brief her on one he studied closely: atrazine, a herbicide used on corn. (Hayes, an expert on amphibians, is a critic of atrazine, which displays a disturbing effect on frog development.) Onstage together at TEDWomen, Hayes and Chaffer tell their story.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.

About the speakers

Tyrone Hayes

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Tyrone Hayes studies frogs and amphibians -- and the effects on their bodies of common farming chemicals.

Penelope Jagessar Chaffer

Penelope Jagessar Chaffer

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Penelope Jagessar Chaffer made the film "Toxic Baby," exploring environmental toxins through interviews and surreal imagery.

This talk was presented at an official TED conference. TED's editors chose to feature it for you.