In adults, the chemicals may disrupt immune systems and reproductive function.

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Beta carotene is a type of carotenoid, a plant pigment that is a provitamin for vitamin A. During its digestion and metabolism, a percentage is converted to vitamin A, a fat-soluble vitamin that is important for vision, growth and development, and healthy immune and reproductive function.

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When that happened, individual cells could turn their reproductive capacity on or off according to the function they served in Volvox's body.

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Some type of parabens are known to disrupt hormone function, an effect that is linked to increased risk of breast cancer and reproductive toxicity, but they are just one type of hormone disrupting chemicals found in cosmetics.

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