e.hormone | hormones and the environment

About e.hormone

The e.hormone web site, hosted and run by the Tulane/Xavier Center for Bioenvironmental Research, is a central conduit providing accurate, timely information and educational resources to keep our international audience at the cutting edge of environmental signaling research. The site is one part of the CBR's Environmental Signaling Network, a multifaceted program that aims to integrate the vast interdisciplinary signaling field by fostering communication and promoting scientific advancements.

Environmental signaling encompasses the many ways plants and animals use chemical signals to communicate life-driving information, to respond to physical or biological stimuli, and to talk to each other. The internal and external signals police interactions within and between cells and organs as well as among individuals and species. Sometimes, certain natural compounds and synthetic chemicals incorrectly trigger signaling mechanisms – turning them on and off at the wrong times or changing signal intensity that may affect reproduction and health.

Endocrine disruption is one of the most studied areas of inadvertent environmental signaling. Endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) – the pesticides, plasticizers, pharmaceuticals, and other pollutants that interfere with estrogen and other hormone system signals – can affect cells to ecosystems and invertebrates to vertebrates. Humans and animals are exposed to EDCs through food, water, and air and can experience health effects ranging from subtle changes in blood hormone levels to overt reproductive abnormalities, infertility, and cancer. Facing the most risk are women of childbearing age, due to increased exposure through lifestyle choices, and infants and children, due to their small size, higher exposure, and fast growth.

e.hormone's commentaries, research news, and educational content provide background and up-to-date information about endocrine disruption and other environmental signaling. To be informed about the latest site offerings, register for free e-mail updates at http://e.hormone.tulane.edu/mailingList.html.

Partial support for e.hormone is provided by federal funding from the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, and the Department of Energy.

Administration

Director: John A. McLachlan, Weatherhead Distinguished Professor and Director, Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, New Orleans, LA.
Web Site Design and Hosting: Yannis Vassilopoulos and CBR Computer Operations, Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, New Orleans, LA.
Web Site Editing: Rob Wallace, Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, New Orleans, LA.
Previous Web Site Writer: Wendy L. Hessler, content provider and writer, Omaha, NE.
Scientific Advisor: Ann Cheek Assistant Professor of Envir. Toxicology, University of Texas, School of Public Health, Houston, TX
Scientific Advisor: Louis J. Guillette, Jr., Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainsville, FL.
Scientific Advisor: Gerald A. LeBlanc, Department of Toxicology North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC.

Advisory Board

Jon C. Cook, Pfizer, Inc., Groton, CT
Terri Damstra, Director, North American Region, International Program On Chemical Safety (IPCS), World Health Organization, Research Triangle Park, NC
Louis J. Guillette, Jr., Distinguished Professor, Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
Rex Hess, Professor, Department of Veterinary Bioscience Director, NIEHS Training Program in Toxicology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL
Taisen Iguchi, Director, Okazaki National Research Institutes, Center for Integrative Bioscience, Bioenvironmental Science, Okazaki, Myodaiji, Japan
Gerald A. LeBlanc, Professor of Toxicology, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC
Retha Newbold, Supervising Biologist, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, NC
Janet Raloff, Senior Editor, Science News, Washington, DC
Eva Oberdörster, Lecturer, Department of Biological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, TX
Gloria Richard-Davis, Section Head, Fertility and Reproductive Center at Ochsner Clinic Foundation, Elmwood, LA
Brian R. Shmaefsky, Professor, Kingwood College, Kingwood, TX
Suzanne M. Snedeker, Associate Director of Translational Research, Program on Breast Cancer and Environmental Risk Factors in New York State, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY
Shanna Swan, Professor, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY
Thomas E. Wiese, Assistant Professor of Biochemistry, Xavier University of Louisiana, New Orleans, LA

Pages and content contained within the e.hormone web site are copyright © 1996-2006 Center for Bioenvironmental Research (CBR) at Tulane and Xavier Universities, 1430 Tulane Avenue SL-3, New Orleans, Louisiana, U.S.A. (Phone: 504-988-6910).

We encourage the use of the text, diagrams and pictures in whole or in part for educational purposes only with credit given to the CBR and any original authors, illustrators and photographers notates. The commercial use or broader distribution is prohibited. Any reproduction, re-publication or other use is strictly forbidden without the express written permission of the original author.

Accolades


	July, 2005 Schoolzone, UK's most active teacher community with over 80,000 registered users, 2300 fully-profiled teacher consultants and thousands of online users has awarded e.hormone.tulane.edu a 5 star rating on their web guide. Here's what they are saying: "This has become a highly comprehensive site on the topic of environmental hormones. The site has links and teaching resources. The site also has a lot of reports on this topic and would be a useful place fro students and researchers to visit. This site has details which would improve and enhance the amount of knowledge on the impact of hormones on the body and on the environment. Well worth a read."

	September-October, 2003 The National Resources Defense Council picked e.hormone as a featured site, saying "You might know PCBs and phthalates are bad for your health, but do you know why? e.hormone, a website run by the Center for Bioenvironmental Research at Tulane and Xavier Universities, will answer all your questions about environmental chemicals. As the site's tagline proclaims, it is "your gateway to the environment and hormones," providing an up-to-date collection of news, events, research and resources relating to endocrine disrupting chemicals, hormones and the environment."

	August, 2003 The Reporter's Environmental Handbook (Rutgers University Press, 2003). The issue briefs section includes information about endocrine disrupters; the first resource listed is the CBR's Environmental Concepts Made Easy site (now e.hormone).

	March, 2002 Oekomedia's Website of the Month.

	January 31, 2001 NAST's sciLINKS selected our endocrine system pages as a textbook supplement.

	May 15, 2000 Our pages "provide an eclectic collection of information that scientists and nonscientists alike will find of value." Genetic Engineering News (On the Web), 20(10; 15 May 00):92.

	January 28, 2000 Science Magazine's NetWatch: Our pages "give a balanced account of what's known, and unknown, about the biological effects of endocrine disruptors." Science (NetWatch), 287(5453; 28 Jan 2000):543.

	ISI Current Web Contents A Collection of Evaluated Web Sites. In building a premium collection of evaluated scholarly Web sites, subject specialists in the ISI® editorial department designed a comprehensive selection process modeled on the quality editorial standards developed by ISI over forty years ago.