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.

Tyrone Hayes + Penelope Jagessar Chaffer: The toxic baby

The toxic baby

Modern life packs our bodies with up to 50,000 chemicals our ancestors never faced, linking to chronic childhood diseases.

30,000-50,000 chemicals in our bodies signal a toxic legacy unknown to our grandparents, impacting health across generations.

Exposure to atrazine disrupts amphibian development, hinting at broader implications for human health and hormonal balance.