USA - Science has provided yet more clues as to why autism rates in children continue to skyrocket throughout the Western world. A groundbreaking new study recently published in the American Journal of Psychiatry found that pesticide exposure in pregnant women is directly correlated to increased autism risk in children, pointing to industrial agriculture as a major cause of brain damage in exposed children. The researchers also found that these chemicals stimulated the production of free radicals – particles that can damage the basic building blocks of cells and that have been implicated in a number of brain diseases.