* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Saturday, August 30, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    South Park Is In Trouble And Needs To Change Course, Fast – yahoo.com

    South Park Faces Major Challenges and Must Adapt Fast to Survive

    ‘Netflix House’ entertainment complexes are coming. Here’s when they open – Los Angeles Times

    Exciting News: Netflix’s House Entertainment Complexes Are Opening Soon!

    ‘Big Brother’s’ Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy – El Paso Inc.

    Big Brother’s Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy

    ‘SNL’ Parts Ways With Emil Wakim Amid Rumored Season 51 Cast Shakeup – yahoo.com

    SNL Shakes Up Season 51 Cast with Emil Wakim’s Surprising Exit

    Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of Taylor Swift? – YouGov

    Do You Love Taylor Swift or Not? Share Your Thoughts!

    Upload Season 4 Review – yahoo.com

    Upload Season 4 Review: A Thrilling New Chapter Unveiled

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

    13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

    Japan’s legacy LCD and chip technology find new home in India – Nikkei Asia

    How Japan’s Breakthrough LCD and Chip Technologies Are Driving Innovation in India

    ITSWC 2025: Thursday sessions guide – Traffic Technology Today

    Your Ultimate Guide to Thursday Sessions at ITSWC 2025

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Showcases Manufacturing Innovations – Modern Machine Shop

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Unveils Cutting-Edge Manufacturing Innovations

    US-ROK Technology Cooperation Faces Rising Tensions – The National Interest

    Rising Tensions Put US-South Korea Technology Partnership to the Test

    The Role of AI and Technology in Shaping the Future of Interactive Entertainment – Technology Org

    How AI and Technology Are Transforming the Future of Interactive Entertainment

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    South Park Is In Trouble And Needs To Change Course, Fast – yahoo.com

    South Park Faces Major Challenges and Must Adapt Fast to Survive

    ‘Netflix House’ entertainment complexes are coming. Here’s when they open – Los Angeles Times

    Exciting News: Netflix’s House Entertainment Complexes Are Opening Soon!

    ‘Big Brother’s’ Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy – El Paso Inc.

    Big Brother’s Rylie Jeffries Finally Speaks Out on Katherine Woodman Controversy

    ‘SNL’ Parts Ways With Emil Wakim Amid Rumored Season 51 Cast Shakeup – yahoo.com

    SNL Shakes Up Season 51 Cast with Emil Wakim’s Surprising Exit

    Do you have a favorable or an unfavorable opinion of Taylor Swift? – YouGov

    Do You Love Taylor Swift or Not? Share Your Thoughts!

    Upload Season 4 Review – yahoo.com

    Upload Season 4 Review: A Thrilling New Chapter Unveiled

  • General
  • Health
  • News

    Cracking the Code: Why China’s Economic Challenges Aren’t Shaking Markets, Unlike America’s” – Bloomberg

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Trump’s Narrow Window to Spread the Truth About Harris

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    Israel-Gaza war live updates: Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh assassinated in Iran, group says

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    PAP Boss to Niger Delta Youths, Stay Away from the Protest

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Court Restricts Protests In Lagos To Freedom, Peace Park

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Fans React to Jazz Jennings’ Inspiring Weight Loss Journey

    Trending Tags

    • Trump Inauguration
    • United Stated
    • White House
    • Market Stories
    • Election Results
  • Science
  • Sports
  • Technology
    13 Top Technology Trends (2025) – Exploding Topics

    13 Game-Changing Technology Trends to Watch in 2025

    Japan’s legacy LCD and chip technology find new home in India – Nikkei Asia

    How Japan’s Breakthrough LCD and Chip Technologies Are Driving Innovation in India

    ITSWC 2025: Thursday sessions guide – Traffic Technology Today

    Your Ultimate Guide to Thursday Sessions at ITSWC 2025

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Showcases Manufacturing Innovations – Modern Machine Shop

    MC Machinery Technology Summit Unveils Cutting-Edge Manufacturing Innovations

    US-ROK Technology Cooperation Faces Rising Tensions – The National Interest

    Rising Tensions Put US-South Korea Technology Partnership to the Test

    The Role of AI and Technology in Shaping the Future of Interactive Entertainment – Technology Org

    How AI and Technology Are Transforming the Future of Interactive Entertainment

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
Earth-News
No Result
View All Result
Home Science

Plastic may not be so fantastic for those hoping for babies. Here’s why

July 2, 2023
in Science
Plastic may not be so fantastic for those hoping for babies. Here’s why
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

Men hoping to become dads are told to avoid alcohol and limit their intake of unhealthy food if they want to increase their chances, but there is one more thing that may affect fertility, which can be even more challenging to avoid.

Some fertility specialists now warn of the potential that exposure to plastics, common in everyday life, can have.

Certain chemicals within plastics can interfere with the body’s hormonal processes and the ever-increasing reliance on plastic in everyday use means human bodies are being exposed to greater amounts of these chemicals.

So how can people reduce their exposure to such chemicals?

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals in plastic

Many scientists, including Liza O’Donnell, a senior research scientist at Griffith University and Hudson Institute of Medical Research, talk about the ‘soup of plastic’ humans now exist in.

Companies continue to make more virgin plastic than ever, and because it is relatively cheap, it is often used in favour of other materials.

Within the plastic people buy their packaged groceries in, store and serve food in, contained in the micro-beads in cosmetics that people apply daily to their bodies and even within children’s toys and

are endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs).

Ms O’Donnell, who studies the biology of the testis, including how it produces both sperm and androgens, described EDCs as “something in the environment that can impact how our hormones work in our body”.

She said that given hormones govern many different processes, including male fertility and the development and function of reproduction, they had the potential to affect a man’s ability to reproduce.

How do EDCs get into our bodies?

Ms O’Donnell said research has confirmed EDCs were accumulating in most, if not all, people’s bodies.

“Ninety-five per cent of the population have appreciable levels of these endocrine-disrupting chemicals secreted in the urine,” she said.

The chemicals get into the human body through both ingestion as well as through the skin.

Ms O’Donnell said the body could be exposed to EDCs by simply touching plastic packaging once for a short time, but such an interaction on its own would likely only expose a person to a small dose of chemicals.

“But it’s the cumulative exposure to plastics, and it’s that we are exposed to it in so many different sources,” she said.

A national public education program funded by the Australian and Victorian governments tells hopeful parents while it is “impossible to completely avoid EDCs” people could take steps to reduce their exposure to them.

The Your Fertility website suggests eating fewer processed, canned, pre-packaged foods, avoiding handling sales receipts, and drinking out of glass or hard plastic bottles, not soft plastic bottles, which use EDCs to make flexible plastic.

A hand holding a plastic container filled with food next to a microwave.

Plastic containers and packaging can contain endocrine-disrupting chemicals. Source: Getty / Brett Stevens

It also warns against heating food in soft plastic takeaway containers or covered with cling wrap or foil, as the heating process contributes to the leaching of the chemicals.

Instead, people are told to heat food in a china or glass bowl and cover it with a paper towel or a china plate.

How exactly do EDCs affect reproductive health?

Ms O’Donnell said such chemicals could affect infertility in a male fetus as it grows and throughout the later stages of life up to adulthood, leading to when a man may try for children.

“When a male baby is in utero, and he’s starting to develop, hormones are turned on in his body, and tell his body to develop as a male, that is when the testes are forming, and the different reproductive structures are forming in the body,” she said.

“We know that that process is very reliant on hormones, particularly androgens; testosterone, so if there’s some impact, or alteration of that process, while he’s developing, it can result in disorders of his development, and it could mean he could be more likely to be infertile as an adult.”

A man’s fertility may also be influenced during adulthood.

“Sperm production is governed by hormones, there’s a lot of hormones produced around the body and within the testes and these hormones direct sperm production to occur and direct the whole function of the testes. It is possible that hormones that come from outside the body can interfere with this process,” she said.

One in six people around the world experience infertility, which is defined as not being able to conceive after at least one year of trying for a baby.

An assortment of home pregnancy tests laid on a surface.

One in six adults around the world are affected by infertility, according to the World Health Organisation. Source: Getty / Catherine McQueen

Research into EDCs in the human body is difficult

While it is not disputed that EDCs are entering human bodies, there is not a lot of research into the impact on human fertility yet.

“It is very difficult to pin down how these influences human male infertility, but there are a lot of studies in animal models, which are quite good at approximating human male fertility,” Ms O’Donnell said.

“There’s lots of studies that have given certain endocrine disrupting chemicals to adult male mice or rats and shown effects on fertility on their ability to produce sperm and on the sperm quality and even on the DNA within their sperm.”

She said such tests were “quite good at approximating human male fertility”.

Ms O’Donnell said it would be difficult to carry out studies on humans around plastic exposure and fertility.

“Imagine trying to do it in men, to do a study of BPA, Bisphenol A, which is a known endocrine disruptor, all men are exposed to BPA. How do you get a control population? You can’t get men that aren’t exposed to it, you have to raise them in a bubble and make sure that their mothers didn’t have any exposure to it, it’s impossible to do,” she said.

She added while it was a concern that it would be difficult to prove the full impact EDCs have on fertility, “as a reproductive biologist, I’m certainly concerned that these things will impact on human reproduction”.

Plastic and female fertility

Ms O’Donnell said there was existing evidence that EDCs could affect women’s fertility, and there had since been a consumer move away from products containing BPA.

She explained how manufacturers were unable to avoid making changes when reports from a reproductive biologist in America were publicised.

“She was looking at mice and she was studying their eggs and the DNA quality of their eggs and all of a sudden, all the mice had abnormal eggs,” Ms O’Donnell said.

“She figured out that what had happened was the technicians in the lab had changed the detergent that they use to wash the drinking water bottles of the mice and what was happening was it was a really harsh detergent and it was causing BPA to leach into the water.

A woman injecting a syringe into her stomach.

Women struggling with infertility may opt for IVF treatment to assist them to become pregnant. Source: Getty / Maskot

“The mice all had measurable and observable effects on their reproduction and were unable to get pregnant.”

More research and a shift away from plastic

Ms O’Donnell thinks a shift away from plastic usage will continue to be driven by consumers such as those participating in Plastic Free July this month.

“This is the great thing about plastic free July, is acknowledging that these things just can’t be introduced constantly. We can’t keep we have to start by removing them one by one rather than putting them in one by one,” she said.

Reproductive Health Australia (RHA) has called on the Australian government to fund research to identify and understand the specific EDCs in the local environment and their potential to harm the reproductive health of citizens.

In a

, it said “One of the great challenges is to pinpoint which EDCs, either individual chemicals or mixtures of chemicals, directly alter fertility and fecundity. Equally, it is unclear the levels or duration of exposure required and across what life stage for effects to be evident.”

>>> Read full article>>>
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source : SBS – https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/plastic-isnt-so-fantastic-for-those-hoping-to-have-babies/pl0qh7j80

Tags: fantasticPlasticscience
Previous Post

Australia’s not the only place where fake Indigenous art is rife. In Canada, the market’s flooded with it

Next Post

Dutch king apologises for Netherlands’ historical role in slavery

Epic Palmer Museum exhibition explores 30 years of ecology and art – Penn State University

Epic Palmer Museum exhibition explores 30 years of ecology and art – Penn State University

August 30, 2025
An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later | Science Friday – WNYC Studios | Podcasts

A Veteran ER Doctor Shares Powerful Reflections on Hurricane Katrina’s Lasting Impact, 20 Years On

August 30, 2025
Chinese scientists create multicolored glow-in-the-dark succulents that recharge in sunlight – Live Science

Chinese Scientists Create Stunning Multicolored Glow-in-the-Dark Succulents That Recharge in Sunlight

August 30, 2025
Gears of War: Reloaded (PS5) Review: Iconic Shooter Finally on PS5 – PlayStation LifeStyle

Gears of War: Reloaded (PS5) Review – The Iconic Shooter Makes a Triumphant Return on PlayStation 5

August 30, 2025
IT outages are plaguing air travel. Here’s what to know – CNN

Massive IT Outages Ground Flights Nationwide: Essential Info for Travelers

August 30, 2025
St. Pete’s Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill ranked top local sports bar in U.S. Here’s why – FOX 13 Tampa Bay

Discover What Makes St. Pete’s Ferg’s Sports Bar & Grill America’s Ultimate Local Sports Destination

August 30, 2025
Hottest engine in the world reveals weirdness of microscopic physics – New Scientist

The World’s Hottest Engine Unveils the Strange Secrets of Microscopic Physics

August 29, 2025
Secretary Greg Reed: ‘If we’re going to grow the economy, we must be able to grow the workforce’ – Yellowhammer News

Secretary Greg Reed: Expanding the Economy Starts with Growing the Workforce

August 29, 2025
South Park Is In Trouble And Needs To Change Course, Fast – yahoo.com

South Park Faces Major Challenges and Must Adapt Fast to Survive

August 29, 2025
RFK Jr. praises Texas for implementing his health vision – The Texas Tribune

RFK Jr. Applauds Texas for Leading the Way in His Bold Health Vision

August 29, 2025

Categories

Archives

August 2025
MTWTFSS
 123
45678910
11121314151617
18192021222324
25262728293031
« Jul    
Earth-News.info

The Earth News is an independent English-language daily published Website from all around the World News

Browse by Category

  • Business (20,132)
  • Ecology (797)
  • Economy (816)
  • Entertainment (21,695)
  • General (16,750)
  • Health (9,857)
  • Lifestyle (830)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (817)
  • Politics (823)
  • Science (16,026)
  • Sports (21,315)
  • Technology (15,796)
  • World (798)

Recent News

Epic Palmer Museum exhibition explores 30 years of ecology and art – Penn State University

Epic Palmer Museum exhibition explores 30 years of ecology and art – Penn State University

August 30, 2025
An ER Doctor Reflects On Hurricane Katrina, 20 Years Later | Science Friday – WNYC Studios | Podcasts

A Veteran ER Doctor Shares Powerful Reflections on Hurricane Katrina’s Lasting Impact, 20 Years On

August 30, 2025
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

No Result
View All Result

© 2023 earth-news.info

Go to mobile version