re: #121 John Neverbend

I’m not sure if this quite fits the bill, but:

New Study: Autism Linked to Environment

I believe that article might reflect a bias on the part of the author Marla Cone. This article present a different interpretation of the study:

Local Environment Not Cause of Autism ‘Clusters’
California Autism Clusters Linked to Parent Education, Not Local Toxins

Jan. 5, 2010 - If some pollutant triggers autism, it’s widespread and not confined to specific geographic areas, finds a study of California autism clusters.

“People seeking the cause of autism have been looking for a smoking gun, but it will be more like dispersed land mines,” Irva Hertz-Picciotto, PhD, MPH, tells WebMD.
…
But as it turned out, there was indeed a factor that very likely explained the clusters. Most of the clusters were in areas where women tend to have high educational attainment. Autism cases in all of the clusters were more likely to be reported from families with highly educated mothers, Hertz-Picciotto says.

“I don’t think people living in these areas need to be concerned about where their homes are. Thinking about moving away from these areas would be wholly inappropriate,” she says.
…
“Our study tells us probably the environmental causes of autism are not going to be found in local contamination, at least in California,” Hertz-Picciotto says. “Whatever the environmental contributors are, they are probably more widespread and not linked to a hazardous local factor.”

The study also suggests that there are a lot more kids with autism — in California, at least — who are not getting the services they need. In Denmark, where all kids are screened for autism, parental education doesn’t raise autism risk. But it is in the U.S. and the U.K., where access to screening is not universal.

“This calls for some thinking about what we can do to increase autism awareness in the general population and bring services to these families, so that parents with education and means are not the only ones able to address the health of their children in the best possible way,” Shih says.

Thus far this looks rather inconclusive.