A new study from MIT indicates that a cancer-causing chemical found in some medications and in drinking water contaminated by industrial activity may pose a much greater risk to children than to adults. In experiments with mice, researchers discovered that young animals exposed to water containing this compound, called NDMA, developed far more DNA damage and cancer than older mice given the same exposure. These results may help clarify earlier findings that linked prenatal exposure to NDMA with higher rates of childhood cancer among people living near a contaminated site in Wilmington, Massachusetts. The research also highlights the importance of studying how potential carcinogens affect people at different stages of life. "We really hope that groups that do safety testing will change their paradigm and start looking at young animals, so that we can catch potential carcinogens before people are exposed," says Bevin Engelward, an MIT professor of biological engineering.…