Dieting is notoriously difficult. Thanks in part to evolution, we love foods that are high in calories. Not only that, but once we have experienced the kind of high-calorie foods that surround us in the modern world, more nutritionally-balanced foods become much less attractive. But why?

To understand how the brain makes dieting so difficult, and high-calorie foods so tempting, the authors of a recent study turned to mice, where they could record and manipulate the activity of specific neurons involved in energy balance and reward. They asked how exposing mice to high-calorie foods affected their consumption of, and neural responses to, regular foods.

When researchers gave the mice access to both high-fat (HFD) and standard (SD) diets, mice completely stopped eating the SD almost immediately, and preferred the HFD. They then removed the HFD, and saw that mice still ate very little SD, and so lost substantial weight. This devaluation of regular food was so strong that even fasting mice presented with an SD ate very little they would only eat a lot if the HFD was available. Just experiencing the HFD for 24 hours was enough time to make the SD less tasty.

Suzanne Beaky

To see how HFD exposure affects the brains response to food, the scientists recorded the activity of AgRP neurons, a population of neurons that is active during hunger and controls energy balance, and midbrain dopamine neurons, which release dopamine as a signal of reward. Exposure to the HFD greatly reduced the response of both groups of neurons to the SD: afterward, these neurons would only respond strongly to the HFD. Regular food became less rewarding, and less satiating, than high-calorie food.

Under normal conditions, AgRP neurons would only respond to food when a mouse is hungry. But after HFD withdrawal (mimicking dieting), the AgRP neurons became so sensitive to HFD that they would respond even if the mouse was not hungry. This could explain why when we diet, high-calorie foods are so hard to resist these foods become rewarding even when we arent hungry.

This study suggests that exposure to a HFD alters the brains response to food so that only high-calorie foods are rewarding and satiating, while more nutritionally-balanced foods become less valuable. And, abstaining from high-fat foods might just make our brains' hunger centers responsive to these foods even when were not hungry, making it difficult to resist the urge to binge. Research on the circuits that regulate food intake will potentially lead to therapies that allow us to manipulate these biological urges and control the obesity epidemic.

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New case study shows that COVID-19-positive people don't transfer the virus through donated eggs - Massive Science

By: Parenting Desk | New Delhi | December 4, 2020 4:36:51 pmIt is important to speak to your doctor/fertility expert first for any queries and advice on difficulty in conceiving and fertility options possible and available. (Source:: Pixabay)

By Dr Abha Majumdar

Often, couples and doctors use the words subfertility and infertility interchangeably, but it is imperative to realise that both the terms are quite different. In fact, the prognosis and treatment for both these conditions also differ. This is an important aspect to consider when couples seek infertility counselling. The fertility counsellor analyses the health condition of the couple, their conception issues and investigate whether it is subfertility or infertility.

What does each term describe?

When the conception takes longer than the average, but the woman and the man can conceive a child, is best described as subfertility. In this condition, couples have reduced fertility or experience delay in fertility, but the possibility of conceiving naturally still exists, even though they may take longer time to conceive than what their expectations may be.

On the other hand, infertility deals with inability to conceive naturally. There are various types and causes of infertility in both men and women. In some cases of infertility, a woman may not produce eggs at all either due to hormonal imbalance or absence of eggs in the ovary. Similarly, infertility among men deals with either complete lack of sperm creation or the absence of the entire delivery system or route for sperms to pass into semen, even though sperm production is sufficient.

ALSO READ |Early birth linked to higher risk of hospital visits: BMJ study

Factors that affect fertility negatively:

Various factors in women like hormonal problems affecting ovulation, or functional issues like obstruction in the fallopian tube or in the cavity of uterus which are severe enough and do not let pregnancy happen naturally, lead to infertility. Similarly, in men complete absence or severe deficiency of sperms in semen leads to infertility. However, if these problems are mild and only require more time or minimal assistance in the form of lifestyle modification and good sexual practices for a pregnancy to happen, then these are categorised as subfertility. For example, Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) is quite common among women affecting ovulation and may cause irregular ovulation among women leading to subfertility. On the other hand, conditions like reduced ovarian reserve and premature menopause due to aging or pre-existing medical conditions can also affect fertility leading to infertility among women.

However, in most of the couples, the factors remain the same that lead to subfertility or infertility. It is the severity of the cause which defines the conditions. Subfertility and infertility affect both men and women and sometimes even both together.

ALSO READ |Delayed vaccination: How it may impact your child

How treatment differs

The treatment for both, subfertility and infertility, will depend on the cause found after examination and investigations, for the couples inability to conceive. The fertility evaluation will involve tests for both the man and woman.

After a thorough analysis, the fertility expert will advise treatment options for them, depending on the results of the analysis. The expert might suggest simple treatment options like lifestyle changes for example, reducing alcohol and caffeine consumption, maintaining healthy weight and adequate physical and sexual activity for most sub-fertile couples. On the other hand, one may need to resort to medical or surgical treatment or even advanced treatment options such as use of assisted reproduction techniques like IVF depending on the severity of the problem found.

Therefore, to summarise, some of the medical treatment options for men include surgery for opening the blockage in the sperm delivery system or medications for sufficient sperm production in the ejaculate. For women, some of the treatment options would include fertility enhancing drugs comprising ovulation inducing agents, surgery to restore tubal patency or In-Vitro Fertilisation (IVF).

ALSO READ |Why women with perinatal depression experience full-blown depression during pregnancy

It is important to speak to your doctor/fertility expert first for any queries and advice on difficulty in conceiving and fertility options possible and available.

(The writer is Director, Centre of Human Reproduction & IVF, Sir Gangaram Hospital)

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Subfertility and Infertility: Are these different? - The Indian Express

WASHINGTON The Center for Biological Diversity filed a formal notice today of its intent to sue the Environmental Protection Agency for failing to assess harms to endangered species before nearly tripling the levels of dangerous cadmium pollution that are allowed in U.S. waters.

The heavy metal, which bioaccumulates at all levels of the food chain, is toxic to plants and animals, including people at very low levels.

In 2016 the EPA approved a 188% increase in the allowable chronic freshwater exposure to the heavy metal, despite warnings from the National Marine Fisheries Service that it would potentially be harmful to endangered species.

Cadmium is extremely toxic, so it makes no sense to weaken the safeguards against it, said Ashley Bruner, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. This was a poisonous mistake that needs to be corrected right away by President-elect Biden. Itll help prevent the extinction of endangered species like sea turtles, sturgeon and freshwater mussels.

Elevated levels of cadmium have been identified in all three of those aquatic animals. Cadmium can cause a range of harms, affecting growth, reproduction, immune and endocrine systems, development and behavior. Its also highly toxic to fish: It disrupts the endocrine functions of Atlantic salmon and those of protected salmonids in the Pacific Northwest, which, in turn, reduces prey species for protected Southern Resident killer whales.

The EPAs habit of ignoring the risks that toxic pollution in our environment pose to endangered species is helping to drive some seriously imperiled animals closer to extinction, said Bruner. The agency has left us with no choice but to launch this lawsuit to protect vulnerable wildlife from this dangerous heavy metal.

Cadmium pollution is widespread in both fresh and marine waters. Human activities are the source of more than 90% of the total cadmium found in surface waters. The combustion of fossil fuels like coal contributes approximately 40% of the pollution, while between 33% and 56% of the pollution is released by phosphate fertilizers.

The EPA is required to set water-quality criteria under the Clean Water Act, which set benchmarks for states to follow when they develop water-quality standards.

Since the EPA updated its cadmium criteria in 2016, 18 states, territories and tribes have both started to develop and proposed, updated water-quality standards for cadmium for approval by the EPA. In every case the states used the EPAs water-quality criteria, and the EPA approved them without changes.

Originally posted here:
Lawsuit Launched Against EPA to Protect Endangered Aquatic Species From Cadmium Pollution - Center for Biological Diversity

Bats perform valuable services, including pollinating plants and crops. This bat is covered in pollen.

October 31, 2020 - By USGS - Iconic symbols of Halloween, bats have long suffered a spooky reputation. Theyve been accused of harboring vampiric spirits, entangling themselves in human hair and are often associated with witches and warlocks. Few other mammals seem to frighten us with so many misunderstandings.But bats, because of their incredible echolocation abilities, rarely fly into or touch people, and provide valuable and essential ecological roles in our country and across the world.

Unfortunately,white-nose syndrome(WNS), a fatal fungal disease of hibernating bats, has killed over six million bats since 2006, and may well lead to the extinction of certain bat species. Bats are also susceptible to being killed or injured by wind turbines.

People often ask why we should care about bats, and evidence strongly suggests that bats are saving us big bucks by gobbling up insects that eat or damage our crops, said Paul Cryan, a bat ecologist with the U.S. Geological Survey. It is obviously beneficial that insectivorous bats are patrolling the skies at night above our fields and forests, and these bats deserve help.

Unlike the dreaded vampire bat typically associated with Halloween, insect-eating bats perform services valuable to humans. Research by Cryan and his colleagues shows that insect-eating bats, through their free pest-control services,save the agricultural industry billions of dollarseach year. A single little brown bat, which has a body no bigger than an adult humans thumb, can eat four to eight grams (the weight of about a grape or two) of insects each night. The loss of millions of bats in the Northeast has likely resulted in between 1.4 and 2.9 million pounds (equivalent to about two to three full Boeing 747-8F airliners) of insects in the region no longer being eaten each year by bats.

For more information about the economic value of bats, listen tothis podcast.

An Invasive, Emerging Killer: White-Nose Syndrome

This hibernating little brown bat shows the white muzzle that is typical of white-nose syndrome.(Greg Turner, Pennsylvania Game Commission)

U.S. bat populations have been declining at an alarming rate since the 2006 discovery of WNS in New York state. To date, the disease has been found in35 states and seven Canadian provincesand has killed more than six million bats. The Northeast, where bat population declines have exceeded 80 percent, is the most severely affected region in the U.S.

In March 2016,USGS scientists confirmed WNS in a bat from Washington state, about 1,300 miles from the previous westernmost detection in Nebraska. The fungus that causes WNS has subsequently been found on other Washington bats and in bat guano, or feces.

The high number of bat deaths and range of species being affected far exceedthe rate and magnitude of any previously known natural or human-caused mortality event in bats, and possibly in any other mammals, said Cryan.

WNS iscaused by a deadly funguscalledPseudogymnoascus destructans (formerly called Geomyces destructans), according toresearch by USGS scientists and partners. True to its ominous name,P. destructanscauses a powdery white growth on the muzzles and wings of most infected bats (the telltale sign of a life-threatening WNS infection),wing damage,and abnormal bat behavior.

The disease is spread by bat-to-bat contact during hibernation, bat contact with aP. destructans-contaminated environment, and likely by humans carrying the fungus from infected caves to uninfected sites. Many caves in affected states have been closed to recreational use, and people visiting open caves are urged to follow specificdecontamination procedures. WNS is not known to pose a threat to humans, pets, livestock, or other wildlife.

Long-wave ultraviolet (UV) and white-light are used to illuminate lesions associated with white-nose syndrome. This wing from a tri-colored bat is lit from above with a hand-held UV flashlight.(USGS)

A recent USGS study showed thatP. destructans can be readily spread during the summer months, not only during winter hibernation when conditions are prime for fungal growth on bats. This finding emphasizes the importance of decontamination procedures when people visit caves and mines where bats are found at any time of year.

The abrupt emergence and spread ofWNShas impacted12 North American bat speciesso far. If the current rate continues, WNS could threaten several of these species with extinction, including the threatenedNorthern long-eared batand two federally endangered species, theIndiana batandgray bat. There is no known cure for WNS, and diseases among wildlife are difficult to stop once theyve become established in free-ranging populations.

However, studies by USGS scientists and collaborators provide critical information about WNS, which is used by natural resource managers to help preserve ecologically and economically valuable North American bat populations.

Increased understanding of WNS through ongoing collaborative research has greatly accelerated efforts to develop strategies, including vaccination, to limit the impacts of this disease on North American ecosystems, said USGS scientistDavid Blehert.

The footage suggests that when bats warm up from hibernation together throughout the winter, they may be better at surviving WNS. In this way, bats might be showing us how to best fight the disease.

Science can also help improve detection of P. destructans. For example, a2018 USGS studyfound that the fungus spreads rapidly by way of bats, then establishes and persists in soil and on walls of underground hibernation sites. Scientists can use these results to determine what, where, and when to sample for the fungus, and the results can help managers assess the effectiveness of disease mitigation efforts.

TheUSGS National Wildlife Health Centeris also investigating the use of a bat-specific vaccine to help immunize bats against the disease.A recent studyled by that center shows that vaccination may reduce the impact of WNS. In natural environments, vaccines could be applied to bats in a jelly-like substance that they would ingest as they groom themselves and each other. Bats would also transfer the vaccine-laden jelly to untreated bats.This finding marks a milestone in the international fight against one of the most destructive wildlife diseases in modern times.

Bats and Wind Energy

Wind energy is one of the fastest-growing sources of renewable energy in the U.S. today. Land-based wind turbines can reach more than 425 feet above ground with a rotor-swept area of one to 2.5 acres.

(Credit: Paul Cryan, USGS. Public domain.)

Though wind turbines play an important role in the nations energy portfolio, bats and birds have been injured or killed from collisions with turbines and their massive turning blades. It is estimated that tens if not hundreds of thousands ofbats die at wind turbineseach year. As our nations renewable energy portfolio continues to grow, it is critical that development be guided by sound science so that infrastructure can be built in the best way and in appropriate places. USGS researchers are assessing why bats and birds interact with wind turbine blades at night and are investigating methods to reduce the numbers of bat and bird fatalities.

The USGS is creating new applications of innovative technologies, like employing radar to track flight patterns of bats; using low-light surveillance cameras to discover underlying causes of bat-turbine encounters; developing models to predict wildlife fatalities; recording flight calls of bats and birds to determine the distribution of migrants in time and space; and experimenting with new ways of keeping bats away from wind turbine blades.Together, this information may help reduce the harmful effects of wind energy on bats by providing information needed for better turbine design, operation and placement.

To learn more, please listen to thispodcaston bats, birds, and wind energy, and browse through thisUSGS Story Map on wind power and wildlife.

Conservation Counts, and so do Partnerships

There are 47 species of bats in North America whose distribution and abundance are documented by theNorth American Bat Monitoring Program, or NABat. Established in 2015, this multi-national, multi-agency bat-tracking program,led by the USGS, is critical for evaluating potential impacts of the many stressors on bat populations. The program also helps managers determine bat conservation priorities and assess the efficacy of actions aimed at mitigating these impacts.

In collaboration with its partners, the USGS uses data from bat surveys to understand how bats are distributed on the landscape and how their populations are changing over time in response to threats like white-nose syndrome.

But the USGS cant do it alone. More than 100 partner organizations contribute data to NABat, including U.S. state and federal agencies, Canadian agencies and provinces, Tribal organizations, military installations, nongovernmental organizations and private industry. Even the general public can be involved by engaging in community science.

The more standardized monitoring data we have, the better we can understand the health of our bat populations and the more useful NABat can be to informing bat conservation, said Brian Reichert, a USGS scientist and the NABat program coordinator. Efforts by NABat partners are invaluable.

New and old data and information gathered beyond formal scientific surveys are all useful to bat scientists and managers. Learn how you can get involved through theNABat Partner Portal.

About Bats

Bats remarkably similar to the ones we have today first appeared on Earth more than 50 million years ago. No other mammal has ever achieved the ability to sustain flight.

There are more than 1,300 species of bats, some the size of a human thumb and others with a six-foot wingspan. Most bats eat insects, many eat fruit and nectar from plants, some eat rodents, and yes, some consume blood. All are primarily active at night. Many species of bats rely on echolocation (locating objects by reflected sound) and incredible dim-light vision to navigate through the night and in the caves and tree-roosting sites they inhabit.

While mother batsare out foraging, the young bats huddle together in groups that biologists call a cuddle. (Alan Cressler, USGS)

Many people think bats are blind, but they actually have really sensitive vision, which helps them see in conditions we might consider pitch black, Cryan said. They dont have the sharp and colorful vision we do, but they dont need that. Think a dark-adapted Mr. Magoo.

During winter, many species of bats hibernate in cool and moist caves or mines. Hibernation is an adaptation for bat survival during cold winter months, when there are no insects available for bats to eat. Bats must store energy in the form of fat prior to hibernation.One of the consequences of WNS is that the hibernation of many afflicted bats is interrupted, often causing them to depart their winter roost early and eventually starve to death.

Bat reproduction begins with mating in the fall before hibernation, yet new USGS research revealed that a surprising amount of mating also occurs during winter hibernation. Female bats store sperm throughout the winter and become pregnant in the spring soon after emerging from caves or other winter roosts.In spring, bats migrate to their summer territories, often in wooded locations with lots of trees and vegetation. Females usually roost together in maternity colonies under the peeling bark or in cavities of dead and dying trees, and in other structures in groups of up to 100 or more. Each female in the colony typically gives birth to only one pup per year. Young bats are nursed by the mother, who leaves the roost only to forage for food. While mothers are out foraging, the young bats huddle together in groups that biologists call a cuddle. The young stay with the maternity colony throughout most of their first summer.

Bats remain a frontier of wonder and discovery. Scientists recently discovered that bats are among the longest-lived mammals for their size and may hide biological secrets to longevity. We also now know that bats are more closely related to horses, dogs and cats than to any other mammals.

These mysterious creatures will undoubtedly continue to benefit us as they fly above our heads in the dark, and science can help us discover and help protect those free and irreplaceable benefits, Cryan said.

Thismap shows bat diversity in the U.S. (Paul Cryan, USGS.)

More Information:

This story was originally published in October 2013 and last updated in October 2020.

A USGS pathologist and a technician necropsy (animal autopsy) a little brown bat at the USGS National Wildlife Health Center. (USGS)

This little brown bat has wing damage from the P. destructansfungus. (Kim Miller, USGS)

These are back-lit photographs of wings of white-nose syndrome-positive little brown bats, one with subtle circular and irregular pale areas (arrows) indicating areas of fungal infection (A) and another bat (B) with areas of relatively normal tone and elasticity (black arrow), compared to a WNS affected area that looks like crumpled tissue paper with loss of elasticity, surface sheen and areas of irregular pigmentation (white arrow). (C) Microscopic section of wing membrane from a little brown bat showing extensive infection with the fungus (magenta structures), P.destructans. (Carol Uphoff Meteyer, USGS)

This spotted bat, native to western North America, may be at risk as the disease white-nose syndrome moves westward. (Paul Cryan,USGS)Source: USGS

Link:
Trick or Treat? The Frightening Threats to Bats - Sierra Sun Times

Boris Johnson has been forced to quell a rising Conservative mutiny over Englands new national lockdown by pledging to give MPs the chance to block any extension beyond 2 December.

Tory MPs said they had been spooked by suggestions from ministers that the four-week lockdown could be extended should the infection rate remain high. Senior MPs have asked to see the full economic impact assessment given to the cabinet before they vote on the new restrictions on Wednesday.

On Monday, Conservative whips, government scientists and Johnson increased their private efforts to contain any rebellion, in what one MP called a day of propaganda.

The Labour leader, Keir Starmer, also intensified his attacks on the governments decision to delay a national lockdown and blamed the chancellor, Rishi Sunak, for blocking an earlier circuit breaker, which Starmer said could have saved lives.

Forty days later, when [the prime minister] finally decided to announce a longer, four-week national lockdown figures had increased to 326 deaths a day, and 22,000 Covid cases. That is the human cost of the governments inaction, Starmer told the CBI conference.

In a direct attack on Sunak, he added: The impact on business, and jobs, will be severe. Make no mistake, the chancellors name is all over this.

Labour will back the new restrictions, meaning the government will not risk losing the vote. But there are fears in Downing Street about the potential embarrassment of any future vote depending on Labour support to pass, if enough Conservatives decide to rebel.

Sir Graham Brady, chair of the 1922 Committee of backbench Tory MPs, who is likely to vote against the government, said: I think it is essential that the government should publish a full impact assessment of its proposed lockdown before MPs are asked to vote on Wednesday.

We know from experience that lockdowns dont defeat the virus, they merely defer its spread, and the cost is substantial in terms of jobs destroyed, businesses that will fail, mental health especially for the young and other health consequences which mean lockdowns cost lives as well as saving them.

Charles Walker, the vice-chair of the 1922 Committee, predicted there would be just 15 Conservative rebels for the vote but said there was huge disquiet on the Conservative benches, which could cause issues later down the line.

I will be voting against the legislation on Wednesday because Im fed up of having decent people criminalised, he said. But I expect the whips office will pick off a number of other heretics to make sure they are at worst abstaining or even better, in the government lobby supporting them.

One Tory MP from the former Labour heartland red wall areas, said despite deep scepticism they planned to back the new lockdown. I just honestly dont see what the alternative is. I hate it, its awful, but what else can you do? I think a lot of colleagues feel like that.

Going forward, we need to see more of the data and scientific advice they look at and accept or reject in the decision-making process. What are the economic impact projections that they consider? How are the decisions actually made?

One MP, who has not rebelled previously on Covid-19 legislation, said a vote to extend the lockdown could be bruising for the government unless there was seriously convincing evidence that there was no other alternative.

MPs will get a vote on what replaces the lockdown restrictions before they expire on 2 December. The intention of the government is to go back to the tier system on a local and regional basis, Johnsons spokesman said.

New national restrictions are due to come into effect in England on Thursday, after MPs vote on them, and remain in place at least until 2 December.

What can I leave home for?

Government say the list is not exhaustive, and other permitted reasons for leaving home may be set out later. People could face fines from police for leaving their home without a legally permitted excuse.

Can different households mix indoors?

No, not unless they are part of an exclusive support bubble, which allows a single-person household to meet and socialise with another household.

Parents are allowed to form a childcare bubble with another household for the purposes of informal childcare, where the child is 13 or under.

Can different households mix outdoors?

People are allowed to meet one person from another household socially and for exercise in outdoor public spaces, which does not include private gardens.

Can I attend funerals, weddings or religious services?

Up to 30 people will still be allowed to attend funerals, while stone settings and ash scatterings can continue with up to 15 guests.

Weddings and civil partnership ceremonies are not permitted except in exceptional circumstances. Places of worship must remain closed except for voluntary services, individual prayer and other exempt activities.

Can I travel in the UK or abroad for a holiday?

Most outbound international travel will be banned. There is no exemption for staying away from home for a holiday. This means people cannot travel internationally or within the UK, unless for work, education or other legally permitted exemptions.

Which businesses will close?

Everything except essential shops and education settings, which include nurseries, schools and universities, will close.

Entertainment venues will also have to close. Pubs, restaurants and indoor and outdoor leisure facilities will have to close their doors once more.

However, takeaway and delivery services will still be allowed, while construction and manufacturing will stay open.

Parents will still be able to access registered childcare and other childcare activities where reasonably necessary to enable parents to work. Some youth services may be able to continue, such as one-to-one youth work, but most youth clubs will need to close their doors.

Public services, such as jobcentres, courts, and civil registration offices will remain open.

There is no exemption for grassroots organised team sports. Elite sports will be allowed to continue behind closed doors as currently, including Premier League football matches.

Aaron Walawalkar

Should the R (reproduction) number continue to be above 1, Johnson will be under pressure to continue the harsh restrictions.

The spokesman said the government would examine the data throughout the four-week lockdown. We believe the package of measures is tough enough to get the R down again and allow us to go down to that regional approach, he said.

Earlier on Monday, Sunak refused to rule out the coronavirus lockdown lasting longer than its intended four weeks, a reiteration of what his cabinet colleague Michael Gove said over the weekend.

Speaking in the Commons, Johnson sought to persuade mutinous Conservative backbenchers to support his plan for a new coronavirus lockdown across England, saying that failing to act now would risk the medical and moral disaster of an overwhelmed NHS. The prime minister also rejected the idea he had been too slow to act, saying it had been right to first try a regional system of different tiers of restrictions.

View post:
PM moves to stop Tory mutiny with vote on England lockdown extension - The Guardian

Special series aims to advance womens health and gender equality.

Progress on gender equality has been made in all 12 key areas identified in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action on Women - but for millions of girls and women around the world today, this visionary agenda is still far from reality.

The British Medical Journal (BMJ) has commissioned a special series of papers on Womens Health and Gender Inequalities with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Human Reproduction Programme (HRP) and theUnited Nations University International Institute for Global Health (UNU-IIGH).

Launched at the World Health Summit, the series reflects on priorities articulated twenty-five years ago for improving womens health, and asks: what has been learned, and what still needs to change?

The Beijing Declaration affirmed that womens rights are human rights and that gender equality is an essential building block for health, well-being, development and peace.

The topics covered in the BMJ series, include a broad range of social and medical factors influencing womens health, such as sexual and reproductive health; violence against women, mental health,noncommunicable diseases, climate change, limited inclusion of women inclinical research and the role of the feminist movement in womenshealth.

This series also includes a co-authored opinion piece by WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Progress in womens health remains fragile and uneven. While progress has been made in reducing maternal mortality and harmful gender practices such as female genital mutilation, millions of women stillcontinue to have an unmet need for contraception.

Rising rates of reproductive cancers, mental ill-health, non-communicable diseases and new disease outbreaks including Ebola, Zika and COVID-19, are highlighting the need to have a comprehensive approach to womens health throughout their life-course.

While there is a greater recognition of women as providers of healthcare, many face an unacceptable level of harassment, violence and abuse in the workplace.

Access to health services for millions of women remains limited even as countries are moving to a progressive realization of universal health coverage. In part, this is linked to an emphasis on employment-based health financing, which excludes women,who tend to work in informal sectors.

In the midst of tracking progress on the Beijing Declaration, the COVID-19 pandemic is limiting or reversing gains made towards gender equality. While women and men seem to be infected by COVID-19in roughly equal numbers, women health workers, whoare the majority of frontline providers, are at increased risk of infection.

COVID-19 has brought rising economic insecurity, driving millions, especially women who work in informal sectors, into unemployment. Lockdown measures have increased the already high burden of unpaid care work shouldered by women, including caring forchildren, the sick, and the elderly. And distancing measures have increased violence against womenand children a widespread issue even before the pandemic.

Many governments are reprioritizing what health services are provided in the context of COVID-19 and unfortunately scaling back access to essential services for women- including comprehensive sexual and reproductive health care, which includes servicesfor survivors of violence.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Executive Director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, and Rector of UN University David Malone, argue in their opinion piece that, Covid-19 provides an opportunity to re-imagine a future where womenshealth and rights are non-negotiable, gender equality is achievable and working towards it is the norm.

The health, well-being and needs of half the worlds population cannot be treated as an afterthought. Investing in womens health is a moral and smart imperative. It saves lives, reduces poverty, increases productivity and stimulates economicgrowth with up to a nine-fold return on investment.

WHO is committed to the Beijing Declaration and is marking the 25th anniversary with a number of activities.

Learn more about our involvement in Beijing+25.

Read the BMJ series. Additional papers will be added inMarch 2021

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Beijing+25: where are we now, and where do we go next? - World Health Organization

Global mice model market is deriving massive growth from towering adoption of mice models for various research investigations. Rising prevalence of cancer, autoimmune disorders, and cardiovascular diseases are prompting various research studies. Mice possess almost 95% genetic similarity with humans due to which they are among the most preferred models for understanding the mechanism and cause of diseases occurring in humans. Mice models are widely used as basic models for the study of human reproduction.

Mice models are extensively used in research and development activities to assess the efficacy and safety of new vaccines and drugs. In 2018, the research & development segment was accounted for 71% of the overall mice model market share. Notably, biotech and pharma companies have been focused on R&D activities to come up with novel treatments

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Based on mice type, mice model market is segmented into outbred, inbred, hybrid, knockout, and others. In 2018, inbred mice model industry held the maximum share of over 27%. These models are experiencing heavy demand from cancer research programs as mice models are designed for the testing of compounds, that manipulate the immune system to assist in fighting cancer. Inbred mice models also aid researchers in understanding the mechanism of disease.

Based on technology, the mice model market is classified into CRISPR, embryonic stem cell, microinjection, nuclear transfer, and others. The CRISPR technology market was held for a market share of around 32.7% in 2018. Aspects like cost-effectiveness, time saving, and ease of use has encouraged technology adoption.

Speaking in terms of usage, mice model market is segmented into veterinary and human. The human segment dominated the global market in 2018 with over 80% share. For understanding the mechanism of deadly diseases, such as diabetes, cancer and cardiovascular diseases, which result in loss of millions of lives every year, the number of testing procedures on mice models is escalating. Moreover, widespread utilization of these models for understanding the biological behavior of neurological disorders and autoimmune diseases is likely to boost segmental growth.

On the regional front, the U.S. is expected to offer lucrative growth opportunities to the mice model industry. There are number of research being conducted in the region, primarily for findings treatments for metabolic disorders, cardiovascular disease, and cancer. As mice are genetically similar to humans, organizations in the U.S. mostly preferring using these models in their clinical studies.

Key industry players operating in the mice model industry include genOway, Envigo, Charles River, Janvier Labs, Transviragen Inc., Transpogen Biopharmaceutical, Inc., and Taconic Biosciences Inc.

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Partial Chapter of the Table of Content

Chapter 4. Mice Model Market, By Mice Type

4.1. Key segment trends

4.2. Inbred

4.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

4.2.2. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (Units)

4.3. Outbred

4.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

4.3.2. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (Units)

4.4. Knockout

4.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

4.4.2. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (Units)

4.5. Hybrid

4.5.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

4.5.2. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (Units)

4.6. Others

4.6.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

4.6.2. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (Units)

Chapter 5. Mice Model Market, By Technology

5.1. Key segment trends

5.2. CRISPR

5.2.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

5.3. Microinjection

5.3.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

5.4. Embryonic Stem Cell Injection

5.4.1. Market estimates and forecast, by region, 2014 2025 (USD Million)

5.5. Nuclear Transfer

Browse full table of contents (TOC) of this report @ https://www.decresearch.com/toc/detail/mice-model-market

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Mice Model Market Is Predicted to Witness A Massive Growth Up To 2025 - Illadel Graff Supply

An online Campus meeting held in October reviewed the diagnosis of uterine abnormalities and the minimally invasive surgical - and emerging medical - approaches in their management ahead of fertility treatment.

Growths, chronic inflammation and other abnormalities affecting the womb such as congenital malformations are all implicated in IVF failure, miscarriage and premature labour. This makes the uterine environment as important as the embryo in determining fertility outcomes.

The speakers at this first Autumn online Campus meeting in October, organised by the SIG Reproductive Surgery, emphasised how diagnosis and treatment of these often chronic conditions have advanced, with minimally invasive techniques to preserve the uterus - such as hysteroscopy - now widely available. But evidence is still lacking of efficacy in improving pregnancy rate, consensus has yet to be reached on the best diagnostic approaches and classification of anomalies is still proving a challenge.

Myomectomy is the most evidence-based approach for fibroid removal, with studies showing a pregnancy rate of up to 68% in patients who otherwise face poor IVF outcomes, possibly as a result of uterine cavity distortion, and poor implantation success. Attila Vereczkey, president of the Hungarian Human Reproduction Society, told the online audience that hysteroscopy is the preferred excision method. High-intensity focused ultrasound and uterine artery embolisation are among experimental management strategies and not yet recommended as front-line treatment. Vereczkeys take-home message was to follow the rules: get informed consent, map fibroids, plan surgery and explore minimally invasive techniques where possible.

A lack of randomised controlled trial evidence means no gold standard yet exists for adenomyosis treatment is always case-by-case, especially for cytoreductive techniques. An easy-looking fibroid can be hard, and a difficult one easy, was how Antoine Watrelot summed up the situation, highlighting how diagnosis can be challenging despite MRI and ultrasound. A recent review has indicated that pregnancy rates for focal adenomyosis patients appear to be higher after conservative surgery compared with diffuse adenomyosis (53% vs 34%) but more trials are needed to prove benefit.(1)

Bela Molnar discussed the challenges of managing patients with congenital uterine malformations such as bicornate uteri. Once again, hysteroscopy is the treatment of choice based on reproductive results and other factors, but who to treat and how many times remains a dilemma - and the aim of restoring normal uterine architecture is not always possible, said Molnar.

For subfertile women with minor abnormalities or subtle lesions of the endometrial cavity, hysteroscopy appears to be of potential benefit, yet multicentre study evidence is limited because the procedure works with images, and images can be misleading. So said Stephan Gordts, adding that diagnosis can also be hampered by a lack of uniform terminology to describe these unsuspected intrauterine pathologies which have an hysteroscopy discovery rate of between 25 and 56%.

The picture is similar for hysteroscopy in the assessment of chronic endometritis, which is a significant cause of recurrent miscarriage (9-43%) and repeat failed IVF (14-56%). Although seen as a gamechanger, the diagnostic accuracy of office hysteroscopy using fluid media has varied widely across studies, prompting attempts to reach consensus on the endometrial features of chronic endometritis.(2) Checking for chronic endometritis remains vital, according to Sergio Haimovich, as underlined by his own clinics 40% positive rate. As for treatment, a simple regime of doxycycline (200 mg daily for 14 days) can decrease abortion and increase implantation rates for chronic endometritis patients, outcomes yet to be corroborated by well-designed prospective studies.

The current thinking is that chronic endometritis may be caused by a variety of reproductive tract microbiota. Evidence presented by Andrea Bernabeu suggests an association between chronic endometritis and significantly higher abundance of 18 bacterial taxa in the endometrial cavity, and that endometrial microbiota affect ART implantation success/failure.

The question is, could an abnormal microbiome be cured? Science does not yet have an answer. Research on antibiotic use is inconclusive, said Bernabeu, and also on probiotics, although the latter do appear to modify the pattern of expression in vaginal microbiota.

1 Tan J, Moriarty S, Taskin O, et al. Reproductive outcomes after fertility-sparing surgery for focal and diffuse adenomyosis: A systematic review. J Minim Invasive Gynaecol 2018; 25; 608-621. doi.org/10.1016/j.jmig.2017.12.0202 Cicinelli E, Vitagliano A, Kumar A, et al. Unified diagnostic criteria for chronic endometritis at fluid hysteroscopy: proposal and reliability evaluation through an international randomized-controlled observer study. Fertil Steril 2019; 112; 162-173. doi:10.1016/j.fertnstert.2019.03.004

uterusendometrial abnormalitieschronic endometritisfibroidshysteroscopyimplantation

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Uterine environment 'as important as the embryo' in affecting implantation and pregnancy - ESHRE

Express News Service

Osteoporosis, termed as a silent disease as its effects are not often seen at an early stage, affects women more than men. Further, women with an early menopause have a 56 per cent increased risk of osteoporosis at a later age (in the 70s). They are four times more affected by early bone loss as compared to men, say doctors. As women age, the level of estrogen (primary female hormone responsible for bone health) further decreases.

The decrease begins in the perimenopausal (transition period) stage and is greater after menopause. As a result, there is an increased bone loss that makes women more prone to osteoporosis.While all women experience a drop in bone density when they go through menopause, those with an early menopause have more chances of developing weak and brittle bones as compared to those who have a late menopause. If we go by the age, women with menopause before 47 years have more than 50 per cent increased risk of osteoporosis in their late 70s as compared to a risk of 30 per cent in women with late menopause.

During the menopausal transition period (perimenopause), the average reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) is about 10 per cent. About 25 per cent of postmenopausal women can be classified as fast bone losers, says Dr Meenakshi Banerjee, Senior Consultant, Gynaecologist & Obstetrician, Madhukar Rainbow Childrens Hospital, Delhi.

What causes early menopause?

Multiple reasons: Smoking, lack of physical exercise or less exposure to sun, consumption of steroids even if warranted by other health conditions, all these contribute towards menopause. Very thin women too face the risk of an early menopause. However, early menopause can sometimes be caused by genetic factors. Premature ovarian failure also leads to an early menopause. Sometime ovaries have to be removed due to a medical condition or malignancy. This can also cause an early menopause, says Gynaecologist & Obstetrician, Dr Neha Khandelwal.

The way out?

Exercise, sunshine and diet, can delay the onset of osteoporosis. Adopting a healthy lifestyle coupled with adding fresh fruits, veggies and herbs in daily diet helps too. So does a diet rich in dairy products. Women must include green leafy vegetables like spring greens, spinach, broccoli, baked beans, nuts (especially almonds), soya beans, sardines, salmon, nuts, dried beans and sunflower seeds in their diet. A simple way to increase Vitamin D (essential to bone health because it enables absorption of calcium and phosphorus) is sitting under the early morning sun for 20 minutes.

A healthy and balanced diet is fundamental to bone health because it supplies proteins, carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients vital for tissue renewal and growth. Besides, walking and gentle aerobics are excellent for bone health as these promote the entry of calcium into the bone mass where it is used for improved strength and growth, says Dr Banerjee.

Otherhealth issues

It is not just osteoporosis that stares women in the eye with an early menopause, but a host of other health issues too. As per a 2020 study published on human reproduction, women who undergo premature menopause are almost three times more prone to physiological problems like diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma and breast cancer and mental issues like depression and anxiety.

Age and incomeIn India, menopause generally happens between 50 and 60 years while in the West, it is between 70 and 80 years. Globally, the incidence of premature menopause is one cent women while in India, the rate has risen to 1.5 per cent in the last two years. Also, the incidence of menopause at 50 in high socio-economic group is 25 per cent, while the figure is 65 per cent in women of low socio-economic group.

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Link between early menopause and osteoporosis - The New Indian Express

In 2018, after a teen with a gun murdered 17 high schoolers in Parkland, Florida, my generation rose up. A high school junior at the time, I united with students from around St. Louis who were afraid we would be next. We demanded action from our elected representatives. However, instead of doing her job and standing up for her young constituents, Rep. Ann Wagner voted against universal background checks and continued to pocket donations from the National Rifle Association.

The majority of Americans support universal background checks, but Wagner chose to listen to her donors instead of her constituents. She gave weak, inadequate responses to the terrified students who contacted her, begging to keep guns out of our schools. We are still angry because lawmakers such as Wagner have failed us. My generation is traumatized because of corrupt, greedy and selfish politicians like her.

I am begging everyone to vote against Wagner on Nov. 3 because she will not listen to us, fight for us or protect us. My classmates and I were too young to vote in 2018, but we watched as Wagner sold our safety for political action committee donations, and we paid attention as she ignored our pleas for sensible gun reforms. Now we are about to vote in our first election, and she is going to hear loud and clear that we want new representation.

Maggie Hannick Webster Groves

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Top letters: Eagleton wouldn't have supported Barrett; Hawley offended by religious, not racial, bigotry - STLtoday.com

Yes. A threat to civilization seems quite likely at this point and human extinction could even be in the cards. Renowned cosmologist Carl Sagan once suggested that our galaxy was teeming with planets, like Earth, capable of evolving advanced technological civilizations. To date, none have been detected. Reasons posited for this failure, from least to most likely, included: 1) no such other civilizations developed in the first place, or 2) we arent as good at detecting them as we once imagined, or 3) once those civilizations developed to the point they had the means to destroy themselves, they quickly and invariably did.

For 50 years I have tried to make adaptive sense of the rancorous bipolarity in the human species between conservatives and progressives. As an evolutionary human ecologist, conservatism makes little adaptive sense, certainly not in a fast-changing world. I regard it as regressivism. Yet, in virtually every large population free to openly express their political preferences, about half choose a conservative orientation and half favor a more progressive one.

From an evolutionary perspective, the inclination to be conservative or progressive appears randomly distributed, even within a family where one sibling will be progressive and the next conservative. Equally confounding, within each person both tendencies exist. Everybody has individualistic instincts serving the interests of me and mine, as well as communitarian instincts serving us and ours. Nature apparently hasnt seen fit to separate the two tendencies despite obvious potential for rancor and/or conflicting personal choices. Some political genius, however, decided it was a good idea to set us at each others throats. The two major political parties have separated us into opposing camps, demonizing the other, and uncompromisingly opposing any political position the other side takes, not the most enlightened social arrangement in human history. Extending this pastime from mere annoyance to open warfare, the most regressive U.S. administration in living memory is now spitefully dismantling the most important progressive advances of the past 120 years.

Since nature didnt distance us, we do it ourselves. We dont try to understand each others thinking, we watch different television channels, we socially isolate when possible, we dress in ways proudly identifiable as red neck or tree hugger, academic or suit, and we respond very differently to science, expert public health recommendations, conspiracy theories, and news from social media. We are even becoming reproductively isolated, somewhat akin to when Neanderthals and Homo sapiens lived in contact with one another for thousands of years, but rarely interbred. Eventually the Neanderthals, clinging to their old ways, died out on their own or were eliminated by their neighbors.

I have finally sorted this all out in a way that makes evolutionary sense. Social behaviors are not so much genetically instinctive as driven by learned cultural values ostensibly benefitting those important to us. Progressive values make perfect adaptive sense for the advancement of the human species and for civilization as a whole. Conservatism focuses its benefits primarily on self and a limited, select group of like-minded, religious, racial, or socio-economic cohorts. Given its innate distaste for innovation and its preference for ungoverned freedom, conservatism is counter-productive from the perspective of a social civilization, a regressive artifact of an earlier, billions-of-years-longer, more individualistic evolutionary stage.

From an evolutionary perspective, humans are a social species, a species that lives and functions most effectively, obligately, in communities, each individual with special interests and abilities, but coordinated by leadership and shared values in cooperative endeavors that benefit the community while still accommodating enough self-interest to make it personally satisfying. Our first responsibility is to our communities. Those communities, in turn, provide for our needs, individually and collectively.

But social species are the new kids on the evolutionary block, and were still struggling to get the social thing right. Individualistic, selfish instincts dominated life for most of its first four billion years. They remain deeply ingrained still. Communitarian values only began to creep into the human repertoire sometime after sexual reproduction evolved. They were well established by the time both parents were required to cooperate as a family to rear their young to independence. Over time, extending that cooperation, groups of families took advantage of living together in small social bands where they could share, care, and cooperate in food gathering and preparation, childcare, and mutual defense.

Progressive social values and behaviors have proven particularly adaptive in allowing us to experiment with new ways of progressing as a species. Cooperating as a group afforded people the comfort and protection to feel safe experimenting, for example, with new hunting areas, new prey, new technologies, and new ways to resolve the inevitable challenges of living amicably as a community. As we became more socially evolved, and as genetic and cultural predispositions toward communitarian values increased relative to primitive individualistic instincts, the willingness to experiment became more entrenched. Progressives are dependably more comfortable with experimentation, novelty, uncertainty, and risk-taking than are conservatives. Experimentation is the primary engine of social progress and adaptation to change, absolutely essential in todays world.

Over the last 200,000 years, our communities and social alliances have grown progressively larger and more complex. That trend has accelerated dramatically this past century, increasing the need to become even more socially adept under more challenging circumstances. These recent challenges include one never before encountered, an entirely novel evolutionary bottleneck. Reprising Carl Sagans concern, this one has the potential to end human history.

We managed to stumble and fumble our way until 50 years ago when the world was about as crowded with humans as it was reasonable to be. At that point, the global climate, its farmland and soils, its water resources, its minerals, its wildlife, its forests, its oceans, were fully subscribed and starting to be seriously compromised and depleted. The unprecedented size of our population had turned those individually essential natural resources into global common resources which had to be managed for equitable long-term sharing by all, lest those myriad people stuck with the short end of the stick, with little to lose, resort to violence to get their share. The COVID pandemic is an unsubtle reminder that we dont know if we have surpassed a survivable global population density, but thats another problem for another discussion.

If we dont quickly learn to simultaneously share and husband the worlds common resources while, just as challenging, learning to cooperate in ending world human population growth, we will end up competing to the death for resources that are essentially exhausted. Nobody will survive. We will embody Garrett Hardins Tragedy of the Commons.

Simultaneously husbanding and equitably sharing multiple global common resources is the ultimate social challenge to humanitys survival. Today specifically, that means navigating the impending perfect storm of simultaneous climate change, soil destruction, and fossil fuel depletion. Given the recent rancorous contention between conservatives and progressives over climate change alone, our social skills are apparently not up to managing multiple global commons. We could easily end up destroying any one of them in our social ineptitude or our stubborn selfishness and one is all it will take to end us.

If ever there were a time for more progressive, more experimental public policy it is now. We dont have time to wait for the gradual genetic dilution of regressive conservative instincts. We must make rapid, difficult, counter-instinctual behavioral changes now.

Progressives must lead through open-handed co-option. If progressives dont build bridges of trust and mutual respect to the conservative grass-roots of the world, relying on our many still-shared values to convince them of the need for dramatically greater social cooperation, any joint public policy effort will fail. This dilemma calls for the most creative diplomatic effort in human history, a concerted campaign to negotiate our mutual survival, progressive and conservative grass-roots alike working in harmony, forcing our leaders to follow our lead, the only rational approach to this novel evolutionary bottleneck.

What that negotiation or its resolution will look like is anybodys guess, but if we dont make the effort, and soon, we surely will fail. We already are failing. As things stand, the toxic progressive-conservative schism is the most glaring, counter-productive failure in human social evolutionary history. Given our unprecedented numbers, it is destroying both our environment and our democratic institutions, rendering our species increasingly ungovernable and, in due course, potentially extinct. We must learn a new way of living together.

Its time for a radically new, currently unimagined level of caring, sharing, and cooperating a global, colorblind just and equitable caring, sharing, and cooperating. Only progressivisms unequivocal commitment to a radically equitable, peaceful, and just sharing of the worlds common resources will convince the worlds conservatives to be part of any such negotiation. I think its fair to say that, on the whole, women have more of the needed social skills than men. I suggest that progressive women should take the lead in a civilization-rescuing global social revolution, starting with building an essential bridge of trust and mutual respect between progressive and conservative grass-roots everywhere in the world, in hopes of surviving this evolutionary bottleneck. With luck, Americas congressional elections of 2018 and the upcoming presidential election of 2020 will prove harbingers of a more progressive, more social, perhaps even more matriarchal, future for civilization. Given the misogyny of the current administration, that would be a delicious irony. Delightfully encouraging, to my mind.

Teaser photo credit: By Alborzagros File:Nations Gate palace (kakh-e-darvaz-e-keshvarha) in Persepolis.tif (edited version), CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=45347465

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Rescuing civilization: Does the conservative/progressive rift pose an existential threat to humanity? - Resilience

Although other factors such as seasons could be contributing to the spike in conception rates in late fall, some have attributed it to Valentine's Day

Research done by the Boston University School of Public Health (BUSPH) has shown that conception rates are high in November and early December in North America. Although other factors such as seasons could be contributing to the spike in conception rates in late fall, some have attributed it to the Valentine's Day romance. A study that was published in the Human Reproduction journal early this year indicates that most couples from the southern part of North America begin trying to get pregnant from September. Most of these couples would succeed in conceiving in November or early December.

RELATED:Foods That Can Actually Help With Conception

Lead author from BUSPH, Amelia Wesselink, says that although many studies have been done to determine seasonal patterns in births, they don't capture details such as when the couple began trying to conceive, how long they tried, or the gestation period. According to the published journal, Amelia and fellow researchers said that some factors such as employment schedules, comfort, and personal choice could affect the timing of pregnancy in many couples. For example, some women might try to avoid pregnancy during the hot season, while for others, it could be a personal preference to have a fall baby!

According to The Brink, the researchers studied data from 14,331 women who had been trying to get pregnant for not more than six months. Out of these, 5,827 were Canadian and American participants, while 8,504 were Danish participants. The studies observed and captured details of the participants every two months through detailed surveys until they fell pregnant or have struggled to conceive for 12 menstrual cycles. The study collected information such as intercourse frequency, menstruation pattern, diet, smoking, level of education, and even income.

Amelia said that after carefully studying the seasonal patterns when couples try to get pregnant, she and fellow researchers found that conception rates were high during late fall and low in the late spring. Couples from the southern part of North America had high odds of falling pregnant in late fall. The most likely reason is that they prefer to give birth in summer when workplaces are not busy, especially in the U.S. The study showed that North Americans had a 16% high chance of becoming pregnant in the fall compared to spring, while Danes had only an 8% chance of becoming pregnant in the fall. Denmark, Northern US States, and Canada's conception rates weren't affected by seasons.

There was no significant change in the outcome after controlling factors known to affect conception, such as intercourse frequency, smoking, sugar intake, and medication use. However, the study didn't point out why there was seasonal variation in fertility. Amelia said that the study was trying to look at the various hypotheses on factors that varied with seasons and how they affected fertility.

NEXT:Why It May Not Be A Great Idea To Conceive A Baby During Quarantine

Sources: sciencedaily.com, bu.edu, futurity.org.

U.S. Pregnancy Centers Now Offering Dangerous 'Abortion Reversal' Treatments

I have been a writer since 2012, and have enjoyed the journey thus far. When I am not busy writing like there's no tomorrow, I enjoy spending time with my three daughters and watching Netflix.

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Why Americans May Have A Better Chance Of Getting Pregnant In Late Fall - BabyGaga

Actor Keanu Reeves said goodbye to his dark hair and now has a new image that is making fans even more in love.

Keanu Reeves looks unrecognizable after shaving off his signature long hair and debuting with a striking haircut. In more recent years, the John Wick actor has become more recognizable for his shoulder-length dark locks.

However, it is not a completely new hairstyle for the star of The Matrix 4, who has previously styled various styles during his time in Hollywood.

Of course, his latest hair transformation is for a role in a movie. Keanu, 56, shaved off his dark hair to reprise his role as Neo in the latest installment of the Matrix franchise.

The main star has been filming in locations in Berlin, Germany, for four months as cameras began filming again amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Fans will note that his latest look has similarities like when his iconic character Neo wakes up in a human reproduction facility in the 1999 film.

Keanu first showed off his new look while saying goodbye to his stunning girlfriend Alexandra Grant, who had accompanied him to the hotel in a car.

The actor was camera shy as he ran his fingers through his freshly cut hair. Temperatures were cool in Berlin so the Canadian stayed wrapped in several layers for his departure. Keanu was traveling light with a backpack over his shoulder and a red bag.

Matrix 4 will hit theaters in 2021. Filming has been hampered by delays amid the coronavirus pandemic that sent shockwaves through the entertainment industry.

The filming scenes had to stop in March when the killer virus shook the world to the core.

The lead stars began returning to Germany to be on location for filming in June. Carrie-Ann Moss has returned to her role as Trinity from the original trilogy. Jada Pinkett-Smith also reprized her role as Niobe for the fourth film.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG0i-D_jfgs/?utm_source=ig_embed

As we informed you in Somagnews in the romance department, Keanu has been happily loved by his girlfriend Alexandra.

The couple loved the show business circuit when they went public with their relationship in November of last year. It is not known how long they have been romantically together, but their close relationship dates back years.

They met when they collaborated on the adult picture book Ode to Happiness in 2011. The rest is history. Do you like the way Keanu looks in his new style?

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Keanu Reeves goes back to the '90s with a shaved head - Somag News

Every woman goes through menopause. When it happens depends on the womans medical condition and lifestyle changes. According to a survey conducted a few years before by the Indian Menopause Society, the average age of menopause of an Indian woman is 46.2 years much less than their Western counterparts (51 years). There was a correlation between the age of menopause and social and economic status, married status, and parity status.

Women who have early menopause have 56 per cent increased risk of osteoporosis in their 70s according to a study held by Oxford Universitys publication Human Reproduction. The study claims that women who undergo premature menopause are almost three times more likely to develop osteoporosis as also other multiple, chronic medical problems including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, asthma, depression, anxiety or breast cancer.

Understanding The Causes

Dr Meenakshi Banerjee, Senior Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Madhukar Rainbow Childrens Hospital, Delhi, gives her insight into this. It has been observed that during the menopausal transition period (perimenopause), the average reduction in bone mineral density (BMD) is about 10 per cent. About 25 per cent of post-menopausal women can be classified as fast bone losers, and this can be increased by various other factors like genetic influence, medicine effects like steroids, anti-estrogen medications, low exercise and activity among others.

Her colleague, Dr Neha Khandelwal, Senior Consultant, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, notes that there are various reasons of early menopause which can be genetic, Even premature ovarian failure, in which ovaries which are responsible for producing female hormones fails to produce adequate hormones, leads to early menopause. Removal of ovaries due to any pathology, malignancy can cause early menopause.

Osteoporosis is also termed as a silent disease as its effects are not seen in the early stages. Women are four times more affected by early bone loss as compared to men. Estrogen, which is a primarily female hormone, is responsible for bone health. After menopause and in the peri-menopause there is an increased bone loss due to decreasing estrogen levels hence making the women more prone for osteoporosis, adds Dr Banerjee.

The other factors affecting estrogen levels can also be related to women being on antiestrogen medications (given in breast cancer treatment), women who are on steroid medications for more than three months.

Preventive And Curative Solutions

A womans susceptibility to osteoporosis increases with reduced exercise, activity, low BMI and increased smoking and alcohol. Over time, the bones become weak because of poor lifestyle choices such as smoking, drinking alcohol or eating junk food. Adopting a healthy lifestyle coupled with adding fresh fruit and herbs in your daily diet can help to overcome the disorder, the good doctors both feel.

Walking and gentle aerobics are excellent for bone health because they promote the entry of calcium into the bone mass where it is used for improved strength and growth. A healthy and balanced diet is fundamental to bone (and general) health because it supplies the protein, carbohydrate and fat, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients vital for tissue renewal and growth, advises Dr Banerjee.

Image: 123rf

Fresh fruit and vegetables supply a vast range of essential minerals and other nutrients needed to maintain a sturdy skeleton. Your diet should also include dairy foods and foods rich in calcium, like green leafy vegetables, spring greens, spinach and broccoli, baked beans, nuts (almonds), soya beans, sardines, salmon, nuts, dried beans, and sunflower seeds.

Vitamin D is also essential because it enables calcium and phosphorus to be used to form strong bones and teeth. It can be obtained from early-morning sunshine and as a supplement. Such patients should expose their body to sunlight for 20 minutes/day from May to October. It can also be obtained from food, e.g. milk and dairy products, fish liver oils, sardines, herring, salmon, and tuna.

There is something that can help to reduce the loss of bone and other postmenopausal symptoms like vaginal dryness and hot flushes. Hormone replacement therapy in the form of estrogen is a what can be undertaken to overcome the problem, but like any other therapy, the woman needs to take utmost caution and proper screening should be done beforehand to analyse how the therapy can work for her.

Dr Khandelwal shares, Hormonal therapy can be taken in the form of tablets, skin patches, estrogen gel and implants. Cyclical HRT can be taken with daily estrogen and progesterone alongside for the last 14 days of the cycle. This is for women with menopausal symptoms. For post-menopausal women, continuous combined HRT should be considered without breaks.

Also Read: 4 Reasons For An Early Menopause

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Early Menopause And Osteoporosis: Know The Risks - Femina

BY RICHARD WRANGHAMVINTAGE BOOKS, 2019

Already in the preface, Richard Wranghams The Goodness Paradox put a smile on my face. Wrangham there advocates the position that humans are naturally capable of both good and bad. In my own philosophical-naturalist musings, Ive always operated from that principle, so evident in history its distressing that so many evolutionary biologists, not to mention humanists, have taken the position that humans are inherently one or the other.

Wrangham sets out his strongest case on this divisive issue at a scientific level. His extensive parsing of the latest research is crucial. He, too, starts out by citing notorious examples of human goodness and badness, including in the same person, concluding emphatically, The potential for good and evil occurs in every individual.

Humanists will appreciate that Wrangham carefully considers methodological issues before diving into the evidence. The value of research on primate behavior to assessing human evolution is highly debated. Even human variation raises the question of whether there is a human nature at all. Throughout, he questions research results to distinguish what is solely characteristic of other species and what can be analogized to humans.

Central to his substantive argument is the distinction between two types of aggression or tendency toward violence. One type is reactive, the other is proactive. Studies show that different species of hominines and certain other animals display different ranges of aggressiveness of each type.

Reactive aggression is the spontaneous response to threat or provocation. Humans have relatively less reactive aggression than primates. Proactive aggression is planned and deliberate, typically, but not always manifesting in tribal, civil, and international war. Humans are particularly aggressive in this proactive sense, exhibiting a far more butcherous aggression in war than primates. Of course, that proactive aggression is directed at other groups of humans. That said, some individual and groups of humans are naturally more proactively aggressive than others.

Wrangham cites a great example to illustrate the difference between reactive and proactive aggression:

The anthropologist [Sarah] Hrdy noted that to pack hundreds of chimpanzees into close quarters on an airplane would be to invite violent chaos, whereas most human passengers behave sedately even when they are crowded. As Dale Peterson observed, however, intense screening is needed to ensure that a secret enemy will not carry a bomb on board. The contrast illustrates the difference between our low propensity for reactive aggression and our high propensity for proactive aggression.

Critically, the early evidence suggests there is indeed no genetic connection between propensity for reactive and proactive types of aggressiveness. Human domestication of other animals shows that reactive aggressiveness in a species can be reduced without affecting the proactive aggressiveness of the species. Housecats, for example, are comfortable with humans but retain their instincts for killing for food and fighting for territory.

Wrangham argues that because humans have low propensity for reactive violence, they were domesticated. Implicitly, he equates low propensity for reactive violence with domestication, although one can quibble with the label. He covers the history of the idea of humans as having been domesticated, including how the concept was twisted into eugenics and Nazi views of Aryan superiority.

But the big question is, who domesticated humans? Wrangham disregards supernatural explanations in favor of the assertion that humans self-domesticated. Like a good naturalist, he examines the evidence. Evidence concerning domestication of other animals by humans shows that certain anatomical changes come with domestication. Compared with their wild cousins, they become smaller in stature, have smaller teeth, show less size difference between male and female, and have smaller brains. These changes are called the domestication syndrome. He then identifies similar changes in Homo sapiens between about 30,000 and 12,000 years ago. Wrangham argues this time period is when humans self-domesticated.

That framework calls for an explanation of how humans self-domesticated. He begins exploring that question by acknowledging that domestication is an inapt term, because it implies that a domesticator is necessary. He covers the evidence that a number of non-human animal species that could not have come from a domesticator in fact exhibit a low reactive propensity for violence. The best example is bonobos, who have a common ancestor with chimpanzees. Their genetic lines diverged between nine hundred thousand and 2.1 million years ago. Now, bonobos in the wild engage in little reactive violence, while wild chimpanzees exhibit a lot of behavior in that category. Bonobos and Homo sapiens have characteristics associated with the domestication syndrome; chimpanzees do not.

The idea that humans have self-domesticated is, in turn, central to Wranghams thesis about the evolution of goodness. He cites reams of scientific studies showing that humans in hunter-gatherer societies tend to have moral standards that, as I read it, require either family or group elders of socially disruptive individuals to impose what he calls capital punishment. Capital punishment is central to Wranghams construct of how humans self-domesticated: small groups of humans devised social norms and mechanisms to kill individuals who engaged in excessive reactive violence against members of their own tribe. In the process, they cut violent humans out of the breeding pool over thousands of years.

Reading this, I realized for the first time that imprisonment and judicially ordered capital punishment (now mostly discredited) in contemporary society inherently restricts the reproduction of offenders deemed violent and anti-social. It puts the systemic racist bias of the US criminal justice system against racial minorities, especially Black men, in a new, even more pernicious light.

Wrangham argues that the reduced tendency for reactive violence, however it came about, was accompanied by increased in-group tolerance. Indeed, human infants generally recognize fairness and approve punishing those who are unfair. That corresponded to the development of codes of conduct for behavior toward group members.

Specifically, Wrangham points to evidence that mostly only males benefited from self-domestication. The reduction in reactive violence enabled men to cooperate against the alpha male. Collaborative men in the group replaced the dominance of the reactively violent alpha male with a democratic sharing of power among themselves. In my research, this is borne out by evidence of possibly the earliest account of democracy occurring among warriors in ancient Babylon deciding collectively nearly 5,000 years ago whether to wage war against a neighboring tribe. However, women and children, not to mention men who violated the norms established by the male control group, were subservient.

As with my example from Babylon, Wrangham sets a larger context of existing hunter-gathering humans in which human males and, at times, females apply a moral code that can include killing of socially unacceptable individuals. He asserts an ambitious agenda of showing that killing specifically resulted in the domestication of humans. In the end, the course of his argument relies on a broader level of social enforcement of moral codes through various means that include execution. I will leave to the individual reader to conclude whether the evidence Wrangham cites is sufficient to that cause.

The clear control by cooperative males of the rest of human society enabled greater group power and cohesion. Language was a hugely valuable new trait that enhanced the establishment of group norms and their enforcement. Enforced conformity allied with more lethal killing ability that came with new weapons and the tactical advantage of language empowered humans to exterminate hominine competitors. Naturally, the troubling legacy of that power is the savagery of internecine warfare in the common era.

Indeed, Wrangham argues that occasionally human societies have failed to control their most aggressive members. When they have gained control of the structures of modern societies, they have instigated conflict with cataclysmic consequences. In the era of President Donald Trumps reactive and proactive aggressiveness, the book has its most profound implications. As much as the republican form of government in the US has led to consolidation of power to the benefit of the rich, it has generally precluded highly aggressive individuals from becoming president. However, the pluralistic reorganization of the two-party system has allowed someone like Trump to be nominated and, against a candidate unprepared to deal with his aggressiveness, win the most powerful position in the world.

Wranghams words of wisdom bear witness to our present circumstances: To avert episodes of violence we should constantly remind ourselves of how easily a complex social organization can decay, and how hard it is to construct. Just as Thomas Jefferson advocated a revolution every twenty years, all peace-loving, egalitarian people must collaborate to challenge highly aggressive individuals who would undermine cohesion and tolerance to the detriment of the greater good.

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The Goodness Paradox: The Strange Relationship Between Virtue and Violence in Human Evolution - The Humanist

Take it from an evolutionary biologist: This Halloween, we need to embrace our fears. Courtesy of John Nacion/Associated Press.

by Daniel T. Blumstein|October28,2020

Its Halloween, the season when we go out and try to spook each otherat least in normal years. Indeed, fears of contracting and spreading the novel coronavirus have drastically impacted many of our Halloween plans. Should they? And more importantly, how do our fears impact our behavior to make us safe? Im a biologist who studies animal behaviorincluding what scares creatures ranging from giant clams and other immobile marine invertebrates to a variety of birds and mammals, and why. Animals responses to frightening thingsreactions that have helped species survive over millions of yearscan help explain our own reactions to this global pandemic, and may suggest the best path for us to follow in these uncertain times.

Because animals face predatory risks that cant be fully eliminated, its essential that they learn to live with fear, and develop strategies to respond correctly. Overcompensate, you miss out on resources and may starve. Undercompensate, a predator abruptly ends your life. For instance, the animals I studymarmotsflee to the safety of their burrows when a coyote is around. But how long should they remain hidden away, unable to find food? Life is about managing tradeoffs. So when does, and how should, fear motivate change?

In humans, fear motivates change best when the threat is simple to understand, actions have a direct impact on the outcome, and the potential outcome is viscerally repulsive; disgust is a powerful motivator. Consider public health officials campaigns against methamphetamine abuse in the early 2000s. Because meth is so highly addictive, informational campaigns had limited success. Enter Tom Siebel, a software millionaire on a mission with a brilliant idea: Instead of peppering users with statistics, show them pictures of meth-mouth, the severe dental decay associated with meth abuse. Starting in 2005, Siebel paid for highway billboards in Montana that showed close-ups of a womans face with rotten teeth with text that read: YOULL NEVER WORRY ABOUT LIPSTICK ON YOUR TEETH AGAIN. He continued his fear- and disgust-driven campaign with a series of short television and internet commercials that showed unsuspecting users their horrible futures. The campaign worked. High school meth use went down 45 percent in two years, compared to an average of just 7.8 percent annually previously.

Fear most successfully leads to immediate responses. It doesnt work as an agent of change over longer periods, because animals habituatethey stop responding to non-threatening stimuli over time. Indeed, designing habituation-proof stimuli to scare away problem animals and reduce human-wildlife conflict is a compelling challenge. The plastic owl above the outdoor urban park dining area works at deterring pigeon traffic for a just few days before the birds realize its harmless and start appreciating its utility as an object that helps protect them from the wind. People tend to tune out, too. In the aftermath of 9/11, the Department of Homeland Security began estimating terrorism threat levels and communicating them to the American public. The color-coded system reported elevated red or orange levels of risk over an extended period of months. An analysis I did showed that the unchanging high threat levels produced the opposite of the desired responsepeople stopped seeking out information on how to prepare for terrorist threats. Americans habituated to the governments warnings. Were experiencing habituation to warnings about coronavirus threats now.

There are other costs to maintaining a fearful state for too long. For snowshoe hares, the mere exposure to predators, or predatory cues, can increase production of stress hormones and shift individuals into survival mode, directing energy away from growth and reproduction and toward defense. Snowshoe hare populations increase and decrease over time, driven by the population of their main predator, the lynx. As lynx populations increase, hare populations decrease until there are not enough hares to feed the lynx, resulting in a dramatic crash of the lynx population and a rebound for the hares. Researchers have found that hares have higher stress hormone levels at the peak of the lynx population cycle. In another study, the mere proximity of a dog walking by an enclosure containing pregnant female hares resulted in higher stress hormone levels in the dams and their offspring. Importantly, stressed dams produced fewer offspring. In a follow-up study, researchers found that the effects of stress hormones on reproductive success persisted through generations: The offspring of stressed mothers themselves were relatively more stressed and had fewer babies.

In humans, fear motivates change best when the threat is simple to understand, actions have a direct impact on the outcome, and the potential outcome is viscerally repulsive; disgust is a powerful motivator.

Complex problems are, in part, so defined because causality isnt obvious. Solving complex problems requires something more than the simple, direct, fear-based motivators we see in the animal world. This is certainly true of the pandemic. As we learn more about it, we may think we are better able to manage the risks were exposed to. To some extent we are. The risk of transmission and infection is reduced by wearing masks, physically distancing, and minimizing time spent in closed spaces with others. However, none of these actions totally eliminates the risk of getting infectedwhich makes giving up on any one of them very tempting.

When passive restraint systems like airbags in cars were first introduced, some people stopped putting on their seat belts because they assumed that they would be safe. In reality, it takes both tools together to increase your odds of surviving a bad accident by keeping you in the car, where you typically are safer. Studies of taxi drivers showed that they drove faster on wet surfaces when antilock brakes were first introduced because they could do so and still arrive reasonably safely, shaving precious driving minutes off each ride. However, driving faster on wet streets, even with anti-lock brake technology, is never a great idea: There was no net reduction in car accidents.

Marmots vary in how fast they can run away from threats. It turns out that marmots who are slower than average spend relatively less time looking around when they are foraging. By doing so they reduce the time they are away from the safety of their burrows, thus compensating for risk. But another way to view this variation is that animals who are better able to escape spend more time looking around while foraging and thus increase their exposure to risk. Perhaps marmots, like taxi drivers, accept a certain level of risk when the possibility of reward beckons.

At a very immediate level, our sadness at losing the chance to scare one another this Halloween could reflect our belief that we are in control of our risk of infection. And this has important insights for our response to a global pandemic. Responding to the pandemic is a marathon, not a sprint. It will require constant vigilance and behavioral changes for more than the foreseeable future. As new drugs and vaccines are introduced, we should be extra vigilant of our perceived safety. Risks are cumulative, and the more you accept, the greater the likelihood that they will eventually catch up to you. Tragically, this was a message illustrated by the recent outbreak in the White House, and at a macro level, by the recent spikes we are seeing worldwide. Protective measures that increase our perceptions of safety (in the White Houses case, rapid testing and everywhere else, the success of social distancing in the summer months) encourage us to take more risks and are thus, counterintuitively, risky.

Some people view the warnings about coronavirus as the boy who cried wolf. After all, they themselves have not gotten sick, and most people who get COVID-19 dont die. But this is the wrong way to interpret what we see around us. We all have different risks based on what we do, various pre-existing conditions, and our age. According to the CDC, if infected, I am at least four times more likely to be hospitalized and 30 times more likely to die than most of the undergraduates I teach. We know many people experience longer-lasting negative health effects from the virus. I also know that its not just my health at stake but also the health of others who may have even higher mortality risks. Taken together, this leads me to think that all of usmy students and myself includedare morally obligated to continue to take the coronavirus threat seriously.

Halloween illustrates the joy associated with celebrating our fears by allowing us to express one of our most primordial emotions. When we do so, we should embrace our fears and remember that we are descended from a long line of successful ancestors, dating back millions of years, who got their risk assessments right. They neither over-reacted, nor under-reacted to environmental threats; they figured out how to successfully live with them. I suggest that this Halloween we commit to making multimedia costumes that can scare, via Zoom, from afar. Meanwhile, lets look forward to a time, hopefully not too far in the future, where we are surrounded, in person, with scary costumes, boos, and screams of both fear and joy.

Original post:
What Can We Learn From Fear This COVID Halloween? - zocalopublicsquare.org

(Credit: Unsplash)

This article was exclusively written forThe European Stingby Mr. Natan Q. A. da Silva, a 5th year medical student from Brazil and Ms. Maria L. C. Meurer, a 4thyear medical student of UNING, Brazuk. They are affiliated with the International Federation of Medical Students Associations (IFMSA), cordial partner of The Sting. The opinions expressed in this piece belong strictly to the writer and do not necessarily reflect IFMSAs view on the topic, nor The European Stings one.

Faced with a pandemic, the mental health of younger people can be harmed, as social isolation which is beneficial for containing COVID-19 has the potential to result in psychological damage for children and adolescents. Most young people have a milder infection against the virus, but they are more psychologically impacted by changes in their social environment.

Quarantine was adopted as a preventive measure to prevent an increase in the number of those contaminated by Sars-CoV-2. This condition, together with uncertainties about the future, such as unemployment and online classes, cause emotional instability and anxiety in most young people. This whole situation is well exemplified by the following sentence from Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) The indirect effects of COVID-19 on children and adolescents can be greater than the number of deaths directly caused by the virus. In other words, we should be concerned about the direct effects of COVID-19, without underestimating the indirect effects that this disease can cause.

The pandemic imposed some psychosocial challenges for the youth, mainly exposed by the loss of freedom, lack of a routine in schools (in person) and restriction of socializing with friends. Worries, fears, anxiety, changes in sleep, appetite and mood are possible consequences of changes in the child-juvenile psychosocial sphere.

Another point that should be highlighted is suicidal ideation in young people who already suffer from some mental disorder, as social isolation, the theme of death/illness, economic crisis and changes in family dynamics can present themselves as triggering factors in the suicidal spectrum. All these points mentioned are found and aggravated by the pandemic.

Going through this situation as a young student during the pandemic period, I was able to experience this in practice, not only experiencing the feeling of anxiety, but uncertainty about the troubled period we are living in, the future job market, my own social life practically non-existent and its direct consequences on the quality of life and study. Currently, after a year of experiencing the pandemic, I see my life and my friends still trying to adapt to this new reality, witnessing a much more lonely form of youth.

Bibliography

HOSPITAL SANTA MNICA.Hospital Santa Mnica. 2020. Available from: <https://hospitalsantamonica.com.br/os-efeitos-da-quarentena-na-saude-mental-de-criancas-e-adolescentes/>. Access on: 24 jun. 2021.

Available from: <https://www.cremepe.org.br/2020/11/23/ensino-hibrido-ou-100-remoto/>. Access on: 24 jun. 2021.

FIOCRUZ.FIOCRUZ. 2020. Available from: <https://portal.fiocruz.br/documento/covid-19-e-saude-da-crianca-e-do-adolescente>. Access on: 24 jun. 2021.

About the authors

Natan Q. A. da Silva is a 5th year medical student from Brazil; he is a participant in the Academic Leagues of Cardiology, Orthopedics, Human Reproduction and Traumatology.

Maria L. C. Meurer is a 4thyear medical student of UNING and a member of IFMSA Brazil. She is interested in human rights and medicine and her hobbies include reading and participating in extension activities from her university.

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The mental health of young people in the pandemic - The European Sting

The spillover of animal coronaviruses (aCoVs) to humans has caused SARS, MERS, and COVID-19. While antibody responses displaying cross-reactivity between SARS-CoV-2 and seasonal/common cold human coronaviruses (hCoVs) have been reported, potential cross-reactivity with aCoVs and the diagnostic implications are incompletely understood. Here, we probed for antibody binding against all seven hCoVs and 49 aCoVs represented as 12,924 peptides within a phage-displayed antigen library. Antibody repertoires of 269 recovered COVID-19 patients showed distinct changes compared to 260 unexposed pre-pandemic controls, not limited to binding of SARS-CoV-2 antigens but including binding to antigens from hCoVs and aCoVs with shared motifs to SARS-CoV-2. We isolated broadly reactive monoclonal antibodies from recovered COVID-19 patients that bind a shared motif of SARS-CoV-2, hCoV-OC43, hCoV-HKU1, and several aCoVs, demonstrating that interspecies cross-reactivity can be mediated by a single immunoglobulin. Employing antibody binding data against the entire CoV antigen library allowed accurate discrimination of recovered COVID-19 patients from unexposed individuals by machine learning. Leaving out SARS-CoV-2 antigens and relying solely on antibody binding to other hCoVs and aCoVs achieved equally accurate detection of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The ability to detect SARS-CoV-2 infection without knowledge of its unique antigens solely from cross-reactive antibody responses against other hCoVs and aCoVs suggests a potential diagnostic strategy for the early stage of future pandemics. Creating regularly updated antigen libraries representing the animal coronavirome can provide the basis for a serological assay already poised to identify infected individuals following a future zoonotic transmission event.

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Cross-reactive antibodies against human coronaviruses and the animal coronavirome suggest diagnostics for future zoonotic spillovers - Science

By Ryan P. Smith Associate Professor of Urology, University of Virginia for The Conversation

In the U.S., nearly 1 in 8 couples struggles with infertility. Unfortunately, physicians like me who specialize in reproductive medicine are unable to determine the cause of male infertility around 30% to 50% of the time. There is almost nothing more disheartening than telling a couple I dont know or Theres nothing I can do to help.

Upon getting this news, couple after couple asks me questions that all follow a similar line of thinking. What about his work, his cellphone, our laptops, all these plastics? Do you think they could have contributed to this?

What my patients are really asking me is a big question in male reproductive health: Does environmental toxicity contribute to male infertility?

Infertility is defined as a couples inability to get pregnant for one year despite regular intercourse. When this is the case, doctors evaluate both partners to determine why.

For men, the cornerstone of the fertility evaluation is semen analysis, and there are a number of ways to assess sperm. Sperm count the total number of sperm a man produces and sperm concentration number of sperm per milliliter of semen are common measures, but they arent the best predictors of fertility. A more accurate measure looks at the total motile sperm count, which evaluates the fraction of sperm that are able to swim and move.

A wide range of factors from obesity to hormonal imbalances to genetic diseases can affect fertility. For many men, there are treatments that can help. But starting in the 1990s, researchers noticed a concerning trend. Even when controlling for many of the known risk factors, male fertility appeared to have been declining for decades.

In 1992, a study found a global 50% decline in sperm counts in men over the previous 60 years. Multiple studies over subsequent years confirmed that initial finding, including a 2017 paper showing a 50% to 60% decline in sperm concentration between 1973 and 2011 in men from around the world.

These studies, though important, focused on sperm concentration or total sperm count. So in 2019, a team of researchers decided to focus on the more powerful total motile sperm count. They found that the proportion of men with a normal total motile sperm count had declined by approximately 10% over the previous 16 years.

The science is consistent: Men today produce fewer sperm than in the past, and the sperm are less healthy. The question, then, is what could be causing this decline in fertility.

Scientists have known for years that, at least in animal models, environmental toxic exposure can alter hormonal balance and throw off reproduction. Researchers cant intentionally expose human patients to harmful compounds and measure outcomes, but we can try to assess associations.

As the downward trend in male fertility emerged, I and other researchers began looking more toward chemicals in the environment for answers. This approach doesnt allow us to definitively establish which chemicals are causing the male fertility decline, but the weight of the evidence is growing.

A lot of this research focuses on endocrine disrupters, molecules that mimic the bodys hormones and throw off the fragile hormonal balance of reproduction. These include substances like phthalates better known as plasticizers as well as pesticides, herbicides, heavy metals, toxic gases and other synthetic materials.

Plasticizers are found in most plastics like water bottles and food containers and exposure is associated with negative impacts on testosterone and semen health. Herbicides and pesticides abound in the food supply and some specifically those with synthetic organic compounds that include phosphorus are known to negatively affect fertility.

Air pollution surrounds cities, subjecting residents to particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide and other compounds that likely contribute to abnormal sperm quality. Radiation exposure from laptops, cellphones and modems has also been associated with declining sperm counts, impaired sperm motility and abnormal sperm shape. Heavy metals such as cadmium, lead and arsenic are also present in food, water and cosmetics and are also known to harm sperm health.

Endocrine-disrupting compounds and the infertility problems they cause are taking a significant toll on human physical and emotional health. And treating these harms is costly.

A lot of chemicals are in use today, and tracking them all is incredibly difficult. More than 80,000 chemicals are registered in the U.S. and nearly 2,000 new chemicals are introduced each year. Many scientists believe that the safety testing for health and environmental risks is not strong enough and that the rapid development and introduction of new chemicals challenges the ability of organizations to test long-term risks to human health.

Current U.S. regulations follow the principle of innocent until proved guilty and are less comprehensive and restrictive than similar regulations in Europe, for example. The World Health Organization recently identified 800 compounds capable of disrupting hormones, only a small fraction of which have been tested.

A trade group, the American Chemistry Council, says on its website that manufacturers have the regulatory certainty they need to innovate, grow, create jobs and win in the global marketplace at the same time that public health and the environment benefit from strong risk-based protections.

But the reality of the current regulatory system in the U.S. is that chemicals are introduced with minimal testing and taken off the market only when harm is proved. And that can take decades.

Dr. Niels Skakkebaek, the lead researcher on one of the first manuscripts on decreasing sperm counts, called the male fertility decline a wake-up call to all of us. My patients have provided a wakeup call for me that increased public awareness and advocacy are important to protect global reproductive health now and in the future. Im not a toxicologist and cant identify the cause of the infertility trends Im seeing, but as physician, I am concerned that too much of the burden of proof is falling on the human body and people who become my patients.

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Male fertility is declining studies show that environmental toxins could be a reason - North Carolina Health News

Breastfeeding is the best way to feed an infant. Not only does it supply the proper nutrition, but it also supports the development of the immune system, provides healthy microbiome, reduces risk of diseases, and brings down overall mortality (1). There are also benefits resulting from the ability of breastfeeding to suppress maternal ovarian function and to delay the next pregnancy. Birth spacing is an important predictor of infant mortality, maternal health, and, in an evolutionary perspective, maternal reproductive success.

Todd and Lerch (2) document a significant decline in the ability of breastfeeding to cause suppression of the ovarian function and thus to reduce the chance of the next pregnancy. In breastfeeding mothers from 84 low- and middle-income countries, the duration of lactational amenorrhea (i.e., the length of time without menstrual cycles after having given birth) strongly decreased between 1975 and 2009. For example, lactational amenorrhea in Bangladesh decreased from 15.2 to 7.7 mo during the span of about 40 y. In some countries, thanks to substantial public health efforts in recent years, women extended their breastfeeding, but despite this, the timing of cycle resumption did not change! Even though it sounds like a mystery, it is not, from an evolutionary vantage point.

In Ethiopian villages, womens daily walking routine, due to installation of water pumps, shrank from about 3 h to 15 min. However, in response to this innovation, the risk of conceiving in a given month rose more than threefold (3). In the rural Gambia, increases in energy intake by nutritional supplementation provided to women during pregnancy and lactation were related to changes in the levels of prolactin and sex hormones, and shortened the time until next pregnancy (4). In Guatemala, women who, prenatally and during first 3 y of life, received supplement with higher energy and protein,

1Email: jasienska{at}post.harvard.edu.

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Public health needs evolutionary thinking - pnas.org