Levels of toxic PCB chemicals found at 30 times ‘safe’ limits in stranded whales

Studies of cetaceans stranded in UK waters show high levels of toxins 20 years since global ban of most PCBs, say scientists

Nearly half of the whales and dolphins found in UK waters over the past five years contained harmful concentrations of toxic chemicals banned decades ago, an investigation has found.

Among orcas stranded in the UK, levels of PCBs, a group of highly dangerous and persistent chemicals that do not degrade easily, were 30 times the concentration at which the animals would begin to suffer health impacts, researchers said.

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Dr Chelsea Polis: ‘The scientific world recognises when you stick your neck out and do the right thing’

The US reproductive health expert on being sued for $1m, and winning a top prize for her fight for free speech in the public interest

Dr Chelsea Polis is a reproductive health scientist based in New York City. She was sued for $1m by a medical device company after speaking out about misleading marketing claims it had made about the use of its digital fertility tracker as a contraceptive method. After a two-year battle, the case was thrown out of court. Last month in London she won the 2023 John Maddox prize early career award, which champions those who stand up for evidence-based science in the face of hostility. She is a senior scientist for epidemiology at the Population Council’s Center for Biomedical Research.

In May 2020, you were sued for $1m for defamation by Valley Electronics of Zurich, Switzerland, the manufacturer of the Daysy fertility tracker and the DaysyView app, for voicing your concerns about the device being marketed as a contraceptive. How did it feel as an individual to be sued for $1m?
Shocking. Terrifying. Completely bewildering because what I was being sued for was something where my concerns had been validated, not only by a scientific journal, but also by a US federal agency – the US Food and Drug Administration [FDA], which had taken my concerns seriously and launched an investigation, after which the company changed their marketing language.

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Prenatal exposure to air pollution may hurt reproductive health in adult men, study finds

Ingestion of particulate matter may shorten distance between anus and genitals in the womb, a sign of lower testosterone activity

In-utero exposure to common air pollutants may lower semen quality and increase the risk of reproductive system disease in men, new research finds.

The peer-reviewed Rutgers University study looked at whether exposure to particulate matter called 2.5 (PM2.5) and nitrogen oxide may shorten the distance between the anus and genitals, or the anogenital distance, in developing fetuses and newborns.

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Births among women over 50 rise 15% in England, figures show

Births to older mothers have increased in recent years as average ages for childbirth and IVF treatment also rise

It is an age when many are starting to enjoy the freedom of having older children – or their childfree choices – and using their spare time to get back to the gym, go on date nights and worry about their pensions. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), however, a growing number of women and their partners are choosing to enter the fray of newborn parenting in midlife.

According to a Guardian analysis of the figures, between 2016-18 and 2019-21 there was a 15% rise in the number of women giving birth in England aged over 50. In the 2019-21 period seven women over 60 gave birth, with two of them over 65.

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‘Astounding’: Alabama woman with two uteruses is pregnant in both wombs

Kelsey Hatcher, a 32-year-old expecting baby girls, was not diagnosed with the rare anomaly uterus didelphys until last spring

An Alabama woman with two uteruses is expecting baby girls in both wombs, an “astounding” and rare pregnancy, according to doctors.

Kelsey Hatcher, a 32-year-old mom of three was born with a rare uterine anomaly called uterus didelphys, or two uteruses. However, she was not diagnosed with the condition until last spring, when she discovered she was pregnant – in each uterus.

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How digital twins may enable personalised health treatment

Research is growing into computational models that will move medicine beyond what works on the average patient

Imagine having a digital twin that gets ill, and can be experimented on to identify the best possible treatment, without you having to go near a pill or a surgeon’s knife. Scientists believe that within five to 10 years, “in silico” trials – in which hundreds of virtual organs are used to assess the safety and efficacy of drugs – could become routine, while patient-specific organ models could be used to personalise treatment and avoid medical complications.

Digital twins are computational models of physical objects or processes, updated using data from their real-world counterparts. Within medicine, this means combining vast amounts of data about the workings of genes, proteins, cells and whole-body systems with patients’ personal data to create virtual models of their organs – and eventually, potentially their entire body.

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Why is pre-eclampsia still causing the deaths of mothers and their babies?

The condition affects up to 6% of all pregnancies yet understanding of its causes and how to treat it remains basic

Having had one normal pregnancy, Emma Bailey assumed that her second experience of childbirth would progress relatively smoothly. But, at 34 weeks, she began to suffer sudden bursts of stabbing pain just underneath her ribcage.

“It was really excruciating pain,” she remembers. “I was admitted to hospital, but they sent me home, saying it was probably just anxiety. I then had to be readmitted the very next day because I was in agony.”

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Epidemic of congenital syphilis in US needs ‘concerted action’, says CDC

In 2022, more than 3,700 babies were born with congenital syphilis, more than 10 times the number in 2012

New data shows cases of congenital syphilis have “skyrocketed” over the last decade, and that “concerted action” is needed to bring the epidemic under control, US public health authorities said.

Congenital syphilis happens when a pregnant person passes syphilis to their child. The devastating disease can lead to stillbirth, death or miscarriage, along with a long list of potential birth defects and disabilities.

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‘I felt safe and taken care of’: can midwifery startups change broken maternity care in US?

Companies with user-friendly apps are getting good results – but some people are unsure if the need to scale is compatible with the slow, relationship-centered practice

When Taylor-Rey J’Vera became pregnant with their first child in 2021, they wanted to choose their OB-GYN carefully. “I searched for someone brown and female-bodied, because I thought that would make me feel safer and healthier,” said J’Vera, who identifies as a Black and Puerto Rican plus-sized, non-binary lesbian.

Instead, their first-ever appointment became a traumatizing experience. The doctor said J’Vera’s weight made them high risk, despite their normal blood pressure and bloodwork. She asked them repeatedly if they wanted to “keep the baby”. And when she realized J’Vera was a lesbian, she made a statement comparing artificial insemination to cheating.

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Pregnant in Gaza with no clinics: ‘I have no idea where I will give birth’

As one of 50,000 pregnant women in Gaza, Noor Hammad faces a traumatic birth and fraught start in life for her first baby

On 6 October, Noor Hammad went to work as usual at a clinic in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, where she was employed as a nutritionist. In the evening she made dinner for herself and her husband. They were planning for the birth of their first child in January and had been decorating a bedroom in readiness for her arrival.

The bedroom no longer exists. Their house was destroyed in airstrikes just days after the couple fled to the south of Gaza on 9 October.

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Fertility patients in UK unable to keep stored embryos amid cost of living crisis

Rising inflation has made it harder for patients to continue fertility treatment, experts say

Fertility patients are being forced to destroy embryos because they cannot afford to transfer or store them during the cost of living crisis, experts have said.

Dr Catherine Hill, Fertility Network UK’s head of policy and public affairs, spoke of a “dire situation for fertility patients” who struggled to get help on the NHS and were then forced to turn to the expensive private sector. She said rising inflation had made it much harder for couples “racking up mountains of debt”.

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