* . *
  • About
  • Advertise
  • Privacy & Policy
  • Contact
Friday, July 11, 2025
Earth-News
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Immersive sports and entertainment venue Cosm set to build its 5th location in Cleveland – WKYC

    Cosm Reveals Exciting Vision for Its 5th Immersive Sports and Entertainment Venue in Cleveland

    Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s Samantha Brady on the Power of the RSN’s Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service Monumental+ – Sports Video Group

    Samantha Brady Reveals How Monumental+ is Transforming Sports Streaming with Direct-to-Consumer Access

    Moses Singer Welcomes Entertainment and Intellectual Property Partner Frederick Bimbler – Yahoo Finance

    Moses Singer Expands Team with New Entertainment and Intellectual Property Partner Frederick Bimbler

    Longhua District and Max-Matching Entertainments, supported by RWS Global forge strategic partnership to develop international IP-themed entertainment complex – Amusement Today

    Longhua District and Max-Matching Entertainments, supported by RWS Global forge strategic partnership to develop international IP-themed entertainment complex – Amusement Today

    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Magicians and Battlebots light up Las Vegas entertainment scene – KSNV

    Magicians and Battlebots Take Las Vegas Entertainment by Storm

  • 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
    2025 WE Local Prague Recap: Inspiring Women in Engineering and Technology – Society of Women Engineers

    2025 WE Local Prague Recap: Inspiring Women in Engineering and Technology – Society of Women Engineers

    SMPTE Opens Early Bird Registration for Media Technology Summit – TVTechnology

    SMPTE Launches Early Bird Registration for Exciting Media Technology Summit

    Google Fiber puts Nokia network slicing technology to the test – Fierce Network

    Google Fiber Puts Nokia’s Network Slicing Technology to the Ultimate Test

    Kaseya Extends Community Investment with Addition of Technology Marketing Toolkit – Kaseya

    Kaseya Extends Community Investment with Addition of Technology Marketing Toolkit – Kaseya

    AI and the Trust Revolution: How Technology Is Transforming Human Connections – Foreign Affairs

    AI and the Trust Revolution: How Technology Is Transforming Human Connections – Foreign Affairs

    Technology And Construction Names Join Top Stock Lists: Check Out Additions To IBD 50, Big Cap 20 And More – Investor’s Business Daily

    Technology and Construction Leaders Surge Into Top Stock Rankings: See the Latest Additions to IBD 50, Big Cap 20, and More

    Trending Tags

    • Nintendo Switch
    • CES 2017
    • Playstation 4 Pro
    • Mark Zuckerberg
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Business
  • Entertainment
    Immersive sports and entertainment venue Cosm set to build its 5th location in Cleveland – WKYC

    Cosm Reveals Exciting Vision for Its 5th Immersive Sports and Entertainment Venue in Cleveland

    Monumental Sports & Entertainment’s Samantha Brady on the Power of the RSN’s Direct-to-Consumer Streaming Service Monumental+ – Sports Video Group

    Samantha Brady Reveals How Monumental+ is Transforming Sports Streaming with Direct-to-Consumer Access

    Moses Singer Welcomes Entertainment and Intellectual Property Partner Frederick Bimbler – Yahoo Finance

    Moses Singer Expands Team with New Entertainment and Intellectual Property Partner Frederick Bimbler

    Longhua District and Max-Matching Entertainments, supported by RWS Global forge strategic partnership to develop international IP-themed entertainment complex – Amusement Today

    Longhua District and Max-Matching Entertainments, supported by RWS Global forge strategic partnership to develop international IP-themed entertainment complex – Amusement Today

    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Government whip to withdraw Entertainment Complex Bill on July 9 – Nation Thailand

    Magicians and Battlebots light up Las Vegas entertainment scene – KSNV

    Magicians and Battlebots Take Las Vegas Entertainment by Storm

  • 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
    2025 WE Local Prague Recap: Inspiring Women in Engineering and Technology – Society of Women Engineers

    2025 WE Local Prague Recap: Inspiring Women in Engineering and Technology – Society of Women Engineers

    SMPTE Opens Early Bird Registration for Media Technology Summit – TVTechnology

    SMPTE Launches Early Bird Registration for Exciting Media Technology Summit

    Google Fiber puts Nokia network slicing technology to the test – Fierce Network

    Google Fiber Puts Nokia’s Network Slicing Technology to the Ultimate Test

    Kaseya Extends Community Investment with Addition of Technology Marketing Toolkit – Kaseya

    Kaseya Extends Community Investment with Addition of Technology Marketing Toolkit – Kaseya

    AI and the Trust Revolution: How Technology Is Transforming Human Connections – Foreign Affairs

    AI and the Trust Revolution: How Technology Is Transforming Human Connections – Foreign Affairs

    Technology And Construction Names Join Top Stock Lists: Check Out Additions To IBD 50, Big Cap 20 And More – Investor’s Business Daily

    Technology and Construction Leaders Surge Into Top Stock Rankings: See the Latest Additions to IBD 50, Big Cap 20, and More

    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

International call for freedom for environmentalist Onur Yılmaz – ANF English

International call for freedom for environmentalist Onur Yılmaz – ANF English

July 11, 2025
This week in science: a comet, plastic-eating bugs, and how altitude changes smell – KUOW

This week in science: a comet, plastic-eating bugs, and how altitude changes smell – KUOW

July 11, 2025
Science Museum of Minnesota cutting more than 40 full-time employees – CBS News

Science Museum of Minnesota to Cut More Than 40 Full-Time Jobs

July 11, 2025
Doctors say we’ve been misled about weight and health – ScienceDaily

Doctors Reveal the Truth About Weight and Health That You’ve Been Misled About

July 11, 2025
Sierra Club breaks record for world’s largest display of origami fish to protest Line 5 – News From The States

Sierra Club Creates Giant Origami Fish to Break World Record and Protest Line 5

July 11, 2025
Senate Democrat: Trump economy full of ‘uncertainty,’ ‘chaos’ – The Hill

Senate Democrat Warns of ‘Uncertainty’ and ‘Chaos’ in Trump Economy

July 11, 2025
Arts and entertainment events happening July 10th-13th across the Mid-Ohio Valley – WTAP

Unmissable Arts and Entertainment Events Happening July 10th-13th in the Mid-Ohio Valley

July 11, 2025
World’s Premier Cancer Institute Faces Crippling Cuts and Chaos – KFF Health News

World’s Leading Cancer Institute Grapples with Devastating Cuts and Turmoil

July 11, 2025
South Korea’s Yoon detained for a second time over martial law – Al Jazeera

South Korea’s Yoon detained for a second time over martial law – Al Jazeera

July 11, 2025
2025 WE Local Prague Recap: Inspiring Women in Engineering and Technology – Society of Women Engineers

2025 WE Local Prague Recap: Inspiring Women in Engineering and Technology – Society of Women Engineers

July 10, 2025

Categories

Archives

July 2025
MTWTFSS
 123456
78910111213
14151617181920
21222324252627
28293031 
« Jun    
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 (715)
  • Economy (738)
  • Entertainment (21,626)
  • General (15,825)
  • Health (9,775)
  • Lifestyle (745)
  • News (22,149)
  • People (740)
  • Politics (748)
  • Science (15,956)
  • Sports (21,236)
  • Technology (15,723)
  • World (721)

Recent News

International call for freedom for environmentalist Onur Yılmaz – ANF English

International call for freedom for environmentalist Onur Yılmaz – ANF English

July 11, 2025
This week in science: a comet, plastic-eating bugs, and how altitude changes smell – KUOW

This week in science: a comet, plastic-eating bugs, and how altitude changes smell – KUOW

July 11, 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