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Great case study. It gets even more confusing out in the media-verse because terms are used interchangeably - I suspect on purpose. Phenol is utterly different from benzoic acid - but they get conflated and then folks who have no science literacy are off and running.

It is frustrating in the extreme. My wife is a retired Pediatric NP and smart - but her first response when I sent her your article was: "I just read the other day that parabens can cause arrhythmias."

It took me a while to track down a study that suggested that butylparaben might have "pronounced effects" on the cardiovascular system of Daphnia magna - a plankton.

I tried to explain parabens. She just looked at me and said - "I love you, but I got nothin'." For her, it was so much birdsong.

Oy.

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