AFP | The French parliament voted Thursday to ban the use of bisphenol A, a chemical thought to have a toxic effect on the brain and nervous system, in baby food packaging next year and all food containers in 2015. The chemical, commonly known as BPA, is used in "polycarbonate" types of hard plastic bottles and as a protective lining in food and beverage cans. It became a concern following evidence in lab animals of a toxic effect on the brain and nervous system.

Natural Society | There is an ongoing and unusual trend that is steadily becoming more recognized by the public. Why are girls going into puberty at such young ages? Furthermore, what are the causes and implications of this strange new trend? Girls as young as 7 are now beginning to undergo body changes that their mothers hadn’t experienced until years later. At this rate, by the time that they’ll be taught about puberty in the school curriculum, they will have already finished it. This trend is so puzzling, and yet slowly is becoming considered an inevitable “new norm” rather than being highlighted as an aggravated health condition.

AFP | People who ate canned soup for five days straight saw their urinary levels of the chemical bisphenol A spike 1,200 percent compared to those who ate fresh soup, US researchers said on Tuesday. The randomized study, described as "one of the first to quantify BPA levels in humans after ingestion of canned foods," was done by Harvard University researchers and appears in the Journal of the American Medical Association's November 23 issue.

WebMD | Preschoolers exposed to higher levels of bisphenol A (BPA) in the womb may have more anxiety and depression and have worse self-control than those exposed to lower levels of the chemical before birth, a new study shows. The chemical is found in a wide array of consumer products, including plastic bottles, food packaging, dental sealants, and the heat-activated paper that's used to print cash register receipts.

AFP | Male mice who were exposed as babies to BPA, a chemical common in canned foods and plastic containers, act more like females and are seen as less desirable mates, a US study showed Monday. The findings could have implications for how BPA, or Bisphenol A, may affect human development and behavior, said the study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Telegraph | More Bisphenol A, which can interfere with the way hormones are processed and so may affect fertility, is absorbed into the blood and accumulated through diet than previous lab tests had shown. Scientists fear it may mean that humans are at greater risk from the substance, found in the lining of food and drink containers as well as baby bottles and plastic cutlery.

UPI.com | Bisphenol A -- used to make plastic hard and line metal food and beverage cans -- may be harming women's eggs, U.S. researchers suggest. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco, say the evidence links exposure to the chemical to lower quality eggs retrieved for in vitro fertilization. The study, published online in Fertility and Sterility, found as blood levels of BPA in the women studied doubled, the percentage of eggs fertilized normally declined by 50 percent.

Independent | Some of the world's biggest food companies are removing the chemical Bisphenol A from packaging, amid growing concern it is causing a wide range of human illnesses including heart disease and breast cancer. Nestlé, the world's biggest food manufacturer, says its will stop putting Bisphenol A (also known as BPA) into US products within three years, while tinned giant Heinz is at "an advanced stage" in removing it from UK baby food, and is funding research by one of the chemical's leading critics. General Mills, the US giant behind the Green Giant tinned brand, has already ditched BPA from its Muir Glen tomato range, while Campbell Soups says it has done "hundreds" of tests exploring alternatives. Several other firms, such as Coca-Cola, have declined to disclose a timetable for its withdrawal, saying that BPA is safe.

Telegraph | Bisphenol-A (BPA), known as the "gender bending" chemical because of its connection to male impotence, has now been shown to decrease sperm mobility and quality. The findings are likely to increase pressure on governments around the world to follow Canada and ban the substance from our shelves. BPA is used widely to make plastic harder and watertight tin cans.