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EVERYTHING
The Cervix on a Chip
What: Researchers have built a “cervix on chip” to aid the study of women’s reproductive health. In this case, the “chip” is micro-thin slides that have tissues on them “mimic the structure and function of human organs. Such models enable testing that can’t be done on human organs or in other lab settings, and may reduce the need for animal models — making them a valuable tool for advancing research and accelerating drug development.”
Why it matters: Researchers “want to use their models to study bacterial vaginosis, an infection caused by a bacterial imbalance in the vagina and cervix that affects more than 25 percent of reproductive-age women worldwide. …However, current treatment is limited to antibiotics that often fail to kill the invading bacteria, leading to recurrence in more than 60 percent of women.”
Source: Harvard Medical School
PREGNANCY + POSTPARTUM
Engineers Tackle the Physics of Pre-Term Labor
What: Three engineering professors are putting their knowledge to work on preterm labor, exploring how the “mechanical forces” of labor and birth—a several pound baby being held in by a thin membrane—work and possibly affect preterm labor.
Why it matters: “The Holy Grail of preterm birth prevention is early diagnosis. An early warning checklist for preterm birth risk could help protect the health of both baby and mother. …Better modeling techniques would be able to assess how your pregnancy will progress, and more precise imaging tools could measure changes over time. With a better prediction for when labor will start, doctors and patients can make a more informed decision on whether a C-section is necessary.”
Source: The Conversation
Measuring Breast Milk Matters
What: There are very few studies on breastfeeding that don’t rely on people self-reporting when they feed or pump, and for how long. This study aimed to change that, using smart pumps to measure the first 14 days postpartum for moms of preterm infants.
Why it matters: It was a small study and not randomized, but they found the “high-intensity” pumping moms “had greater daily and cumulative pumped milk volume than low-intensity pumping mothers.” TLDR: “The first week postpartum is critical for optimizing pumping behaviors. Accurate, objective measures of pumping behaviors, pumped milk volume and [when milk begins] are a research priority.”
Source: Journal of Perinatology
ABORTION ACCESS
Trump Speaks to Group That Wants to ‘Eradicate Abortion In Its Entirety’
What: Donald Trump has tried to avoid abortion on the campaign trail, but that didn’t stop him from urging a “staunchly anti-abortion Christian group” to keep fighting to stop abortion access. The Danbury Institute is a “newly-formed institute is an association of churches, Christians and organizations that wants to eradicate abortion in its entirety.”
Why it matters: His speech shows that Trump must keep the people who want to eradicate abortion on his side in the voting booth–even as he tries to hide what he’d really do to abortion and contraception access if he took the White House again.
Source: Associated Press
ENDOMETRIOSIS
We Can Do Better Than 6+ Years to Diagnosis
What: Bloomberg has a deeper dive on endometriosis, and how some specialists are calling for scans to identify the disease, instead of just relying on laparoscopic surgery.
Why it matters: “According to the Adelaide researchers, it takes an average of 6.4 years to diagnose endometriosis using the current conventional standard of surgical laparoscopy. And that’s not widely accessible, even in developed nations: It can be too expensive — or even too daunting — for many women to consider.”
Source: Bloomberg
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