Abstract
LAURENCE1, in his criticism of Renwick's inference that potato blight is the principal cause of spina bifida and anencephaly, states: “In any case it is likely that one is dealing not with a single teratogen malformation but with one which is multifactorial”. This is difficult to parse, but, as multifactorial is now a fashionable word, and as it is important to try and reduce the emotion, to which Laurence objects so emotionally, this word, at least, might be eliminated from meaningful discourse.
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References
Laurence, M., Nature, 240, 579 (1972).
Laurence, M., Miller, M., Vowles, M., Evans, K., and Carter, C., Nature, 233, 495 (1971).
Laurence, M., Nature, 240, 242 (1972).
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EDWARDS, J. Potato Blight Teratogen. Nature 243, 475–476 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1038/243475a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/243475a0
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