EDC Science Weekly, Jan. 31 – Feb. 13, 2025

Post author:HEEDS
Post published:February 13, 2025
Post category:EDC Science Weekly

A summary of articles on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) added to PubMed over the past two weeks.

Contents: Events, Regulations/Policy, Methods/Tools/Screening, Commentaries, Reviews/Meta-Analyses, Human Health Studies, Laboratory Studies, Exposure/Environment Studies

Highlights:

Science summaries and highlights

Events

Feb. 13-14 workshops: How to Conduct Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses to Improve Environmental Health Policy and Decision-Making, free and in person at UCSF [UCSF EaRTH Center]

Feb. 19 webinar: Ultrashort-chain PFAS: The global threat of trifluoracetic acid [EDC Strategies Partnership]

Feb. 27 webinar: Plastics, Chemicals & Cancer: The role of the Global Plastics Treaty in preventing breast cancer [CHE Alaska]

Mar. 4 webinar: GMO Corn & Glyphosate: New evidence for precaution from Mexican scientists [CHE]

Mar. 14-15: Lou Guillette Jr. Symposium, in person at the University of Florida in Gainesville [HEEDS]

Mar. 26 webinar: Impacts of Fracking in North & South America: Resources in English & Spanish [CHE]

Apr. 15-16: Iowa PFAS Conference, in person in Iowa City [Iowa College of Engineering]

Apr. 25: HEEDS EDC-North Carolina group 5th Annual Meeting, in person in Raleigh [HEEDS]

Apr. 27-29 conference: Break the Cycle of Children’s Environmental Health Disparities

July 30 – Aug. 1 conference: U.S. DOHaD Society Annual Meeting

More events

Regulations/Policy

American chaos: standing up for health and medicine

Impact of the new hazard classes in the CLP regulation on EU chemicals legislation.

The world must move forwards with plastics treaty.

Integrating population-level effects into the regulatory assessment of endocrine disrupting substances.

More EDC policy and regulations open for comment

Methods/Tools/Screening

IARC Workshop on the Key Characteristics of Carcinogens: Assessment of End Points for Evaluating Mechanistic Evidence of Carcinogenic Hazards.

Common issues of data science on the eco-environmental risks of emerging contaminants.

Communicating with Stakeholders to Identify High-Impact Research Directions for Non-Targeted Analysis.

A 2024 inventory of test methods relevant to thyroid hormone system disruption for human health and environmental regulatory hazard assessment.

Toxicogenomic signatures of estrogen-related modes of action in the zebrafish embryo.

Effects of Non-Feeding on Development in a Teleost, Minami-Medaka, Oryzias latipes: Identification of Eleutheroembryonic Stage for Potential Alternative Regulatory Toxicology Tests Along the 3R Principles.

Mapping physiology: A systems biology approach for the development of alternative methods in toxicology.

FluoBase: a fluorinated agents database.

A combination of high-throughput in vitro and in silico new approach methods for ecotoxicology hazard assessment for fish.

Addressing the challenges of acute toxicity hazard classification using a non-animal defined approach.

Commentaries

Confronting the interconnection of chemical pollution and climate change

Can this revolutionary plastics-recycling plant help solve the pollution crisis? and Your brain is full of microplastics: are they harming you? [News items in Nature]

Introduction: The Future of Plastics Sustainability. [special issue in Chemical Reviews]

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Environmental Exposures and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Review.

Association between exposure to airborne endocrine disrupting chemicals and asthma in children or adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis.

BPA/Phenols

Environmental contamination by bisphenols: from plastic production to modulation of the intestinal morphophysiology in experimental models.

The protection of bisphenol A-modulated miRNAs and targets by natural products.

A comprehensive review of medicinal plants and their beneficial roles in alleviating bisphenol A-induced organ toxicity.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Gestational triclosan exposure and its effects on child neurodevelopment – a systematic review

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Establishing the Mechanisms Involved in the Environmental Exposure to Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCBs) in the Risk of Male Infertility.

Investigating the research landscape of chlorinated paraffins over the past ten decades.

PFAS

Effects of Early-life PFAS Exposure on Child Neurodevelopment: A Review of the Evidence and Research gaps.

The association between maternal perfluoroalkylated substances exposure and neonatal birth weight: a system review and meta-analysis.

Pesticides

Association between exposure to pesticides and toxicity in humans: a review.

Metals/Metalloids

A systematic review of exposure to toxic elements and neurocognitive development in children.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Paint: a ubiquitous yet disregarded piece of the microplastics puzzle.

Effects of microplastics on the immune system: How much should we worry?

Impact of plastic pollution on ecosystems: a review of adverse effects and sustainable solutions.

Exploring the potential protective role of anthocyanins in mitigating micro/nanoplastic-induced reproductive toxicity: A steroid receptor perspective.

Air Pollution

The effect of wildfire smoke on children’s health: A systematic review.

Environmental Risk Factors for All-Cause Dementia, Alzheimer’s Disease Dementia, Vascular Dementia, and Mild Cognitive Impairment: An Umbrella Review and Meta-Analysis.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Gestational exposure to environmental chemical mixtures and cognitive abilities in children: A pooled analysis of two North American birth cohorts.

Environment-wide association study of cardiovascular and all-cause mortality: analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 1999-2018.

Effects of endocrine disrupting chemicals, blood metabolome, and epigenetics on breast cancer risk: A multi-dimensional mendelian randomization study.

Associations of PFAS and pesticides with lung function changes from adolescence to young adulthood in the ESPINA study.

Long-term health effects of a third-generation waste-to-energy plant: the experience of Turin (Italy).

Clinical characteristics and risk factors of female precocious puberty.

Endocrine disrupting chemicals in early MS disease activity.

Exposome-wide association study of environmental chemical exposures and epigenetic aging in the national health and nutrition examination survey.

Phthalates

Modulation effects of folic acid and vitamin D on the relationships between prenatal cumulative phthalate exposure and preschoolers’ emotional and behavioral problems.

Association between phthalate exposure and rash eczema disease: based on NHANES 2005-2006.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Associations between urinary parabens and thyroid hormone homeostasis across trimesters in Taiwanese pregnant women.

Associations between phenol and paraben exposure and the risk of developing breast cancer in adult women: a cross-sectional study.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Persistent organochlorine pesticides and cardiometabolic outcomes among middle-aged Latina women in a California agricultural community: The CHAMACOS Maternal Cognition Study.

Association between polychlorinated biphenyls and circulatory immune markers: results from NHANES 1999-2004.

Organochlorine pesticides and epigenetic alternations in unexplained female infertility.

Organochlorine Pesticides and Epigenetic Alterations in Brain Cancer.

PFAS

Sex-Specific Effects of In Utero Exposure to Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances on Placental Development.

Prenatal Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Relation to Antibody Titers and Infections in Childhood.

Association between plasma perfluoroalkyl substances and high-grade serous ovarian cancer overall survival: A nested case-control study.

Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Twin Growth Discordance: New Insights from a Twin Birth Cohort Study.

Emerging PFAS Exposure Is More Potent in Altering Childhood Lipid Levels Mediated by Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number.

Serum lipids mediate the association of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure and age-related macular degeneration.

Association between Per and Polyfluoroalkyl Substance and Abdominal Fat Distribution: A Trait Spectrum Exposure Pattern and Structure-Based Investigation.

Maternal per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances exposure, cord blood lipidomics and infant anthropometry: A mediation analysis.

Flame Retardants

Maternal organophosphate esters and sex steroid hormones in mid-pregnancy.

New insights into the mechanism of triphenyl phosphate and its metabolite diphenyl phosphate in diabetic kidney disease.

Organophosphate Esters, Sperm Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number, and Semen Quality: A Longitudinal Study with Repeated Measurements.

Changes in molecular biomarkers of neurotoxicity in newborns following prenatal exposure to organophosphate compounds.

Pesticides

LC-MS/MS-Profiling of Human Serum Unveils Significant Increase in Neuroinflammation and Carcinogenesis Following Chronic Organophosphate Exposure.

Evaluation of gestational nonpersistent pesticide exposure with newborn size and gestational length in rural Ghana using a novel time-varying extension of multiple informant models.

Association between non-persistent pesticides and hypertension in adults: insights from NHANES.

Metals/Metalloids

Investigating the Association Between Heavy Metals and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: An Exploratory Study.

Relationship between prenatal metals exposure and neurodevelopment in one-year-old infants in the CLIMB study.

Association between heavy metals and risk of cardiovascular diseases in US adults with prediabetes from NHANES 2011-2018.

Single- and combined-heavy metals/metalloids exposures are associated with infertility in US women aged 20-44: NHANES 2013-2020 analysis.

Urinary concentrations of arsenic species in older Dutch adults and risk of chronic kidney disease.

Novel evidence of arsenic-related excess adiposity and its implication in the risk of cardiometabolic diseases.

Prenatal exposure to metal mixture and birth weight; a Bayesian kernel machine regression analysis of two cohort studies in Japan and Iran.

Air Pollution

Birth Outcomes among Infants Born between 2006 and 2018 after Maternal Exposure during Pregnancy to Ultrafine Particles from Aviation around a Large International Airport in the Netherlands.

Association between PM_2.5 components and poor ovarian response in assisted reproductive technology patients: A retrospective cohort study identifying sensitive exposure windows in China.

Long-Term Exposure to Fine Particulate Matter (PM_2.5) Components and Precocious Puberty Among School-Aged Children: Cross-Sectional Study.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

The hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis is disrupted by exposure to a mix of tributyltin and bisphenol S.

Freshwater pollution: cardiotoxicity effect of perfluorooctane sulfonic acid and neonicotinoid imidacloprid mixture.

Studying interaction effects on toxicokinetics in zebrafish combining experimental and modelling approaches.

Oxidative Stress in Kidney of Zebrafish due to Individual and Combined Exposure to Amoxicillin, Arsenic, and Fluoride: Involving Nrf2-Keap1-ARE Pathway.

Genotoxicity and fibrosis in human hepatocytes in vitro from exposure to low doses of PBDE-47, arsenic, or both chemicals.

BPA/Phenols

Impact of Maternal BPA Exposure during Pregnancy on Obesity in Male Offspring: A Mechanistic Mouse Study of Adipose-Derived Exosomal miRNA.

Bisphenol A attenuates testosterone synthesis via increasing apolipoprotein A1-mediated reverse cholesterol transport in mice.

Bisphenol B restrains rat leydig cell function via H3K27me3/H3K9me3 histone modifications.

Developmental exposure to an environmentally relevant dose of Bisphenol S impairs lpostnatal growth and disrupts placental transcriptional profile in female rat.

Toxicokinetics and reproductive toxicity of maternal bisphenol AF exposure during gestation in offspring of Sprague Dawley rats.

Low doses of bisphenol F and S affect human ovarian granulosa cells by reducing the number of active mitochondria and ATP synthesis.

Transcriptome analysis reveals effects of ethynylestradiol and bisphenol A on multiple endocrine and metabolic pathways in the pituitary and liver of female Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua).

Nonylphenol

In Vivo Investigation of the Effects of Nonylphenol on the Pituitary-Adrenal Axis and Pineal Gland in Male Rats.

Investigation of the Effects of Selenium Against 4-Nonylphenol-induced Toxicity in Rat Testis.

Phthalates

Metabolic and molecular Characterization, following dietary exposure to DINCH, Reveals new Implications for its role as a Metabolism-Disrupting chemical.

Elucidating the mechanism of phthalates induced osteoporosis through network toxicology and molecular docking.

Chlorination enhances the phthalates release and increases the cytotoxicity and bacterial functions related to human disease of drinking water in plastic pipes.

Benzyl butyl phthalate promotes ferroptosis in Sertoli cells via disrupting ceruloplasmin-mediated iron balance.

Revealing the core suppression effects of various Di (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate exposure on early meiosis progression in postnatal male mice via single-cell RNA sequencing.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

The association between estrogenic activity evolution and the formation of different products during the photochemical transformation of parabens in water.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Cognitive effects of early life exposure to PCBs in rats: Sex-specific behavioral, hormonal and neuromolecular mechanisms involving the brain dopamine system.

New Approach Methodologies (NAMs) to assess killer whale (Orcinus orca) estrogen receptor alpha (ERα) transactivation potencies by DDTs and their risks.

An insight into the molecular mechanisms of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) mediated dysregulation of glucose and lipid homeostasis in Heteropneustes fossilis.

PFAS

Unraveling Human Hepatocellular Responses to PFAS and Aqueous Film-Forming Foams (AFFFs) for Molecular Hazard Prioritization and In Vivo Translation.

Insight into perfluorooctanoic acid-induced impairment of mouse embryo implantation via single-cell RNA-seq.

Prenatal Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) exposure causes reproductive toxicity by disrupting the formation of transzonal projections (TZPs) and down-regulating Wnt4/β-catenin signaling pathway in progeny.

Bioconcentration, maternal transfer, and toxicokinetics of PFOS in a multi-generational zebrafish exposure.

Perfluorooctane sulfonate induces hepatotoxicity through promoting inflammation, cell death and autophagy in a rat model.

Evaluation of the causal effects of perfluorooctanesulfonate on COVID-19 and its associated mechanisms: Integrated Mendelian randomization and network toxicology analyses.

Perfluorooctanoic acid induced lung toxicity via TGF-β1/Smad pathway, crosstalk between airway hyperresponsiveness and fibrosis: withdrawal impact.

Effects of a novel estrogenic perfluoroalkyl substance on reproductive endocrinology and function in the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas).

Polystyrene nanoplastics amplify the toxic effects of PFOA on the Chinese mitten crab (Eriocheir sinensis).

Investigating the molecular interactions of two long-chain PFASs with human serum albumin: Insights from multispectral analysis and computational methods.

Mitochondrial activity and steroid secretion in mouse ovarian granulosa cells are suppressed by a PFAS mixture.

Toxicological mode-of-action and developmental toxicity of different carbon chain length PFAS.

Effects of perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) on a novel reptilian toxicity test species, the brown anole (anolis sagrei).

Flame Retardants

High-Throughput Zebrafish Screening Reveals Cardiotoxic Effects of Organophosphate Flame Retardants.

Developmental Immunotoxicity Study of Tris(chloropropyl) phosphate (TCPP) in Hsd:Sprague Dawley® SD® Rats Exposed Through Dosed Feed.

Exploring the molecular interface of gene expression dynamics and prostate cancer susceptibility in response to HBCD exposure.

Ecotoxicological responses of marine fish to the organophosphate flame-retardant tris (2-chloroisopropyl) phosphate (TCPP) dietary exposure: Juvenile gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata) as a case study.

Novel Organophosphate Ester Tris(2,4-di-tert-butylphenyl)phosphate Alters Lipid Metabolism: Insights from Lipidomic Analysis and mRNA Expression.

Biotransformation of bis(2-chloroethyl)2-chloroethylphosphphonate, and its effects on metabolism of lipid molecules in primary mouse hepatocytes.

Polybrominated biphenyls induce liver injury by disrupting the KEAP1/Nrf2/SLC7A11 axis leading to impaired GSH synthesis and ferroptosis in hepatocytes.

New insights into quercetin’s attenuation of TBBPA-induced injury to MCEC cells: Involvement of the p38/NF-κB pathway and pyroptosis.

Pesticides

Cypermethrin triggers oxidative stress, apoptosis, and inflammation in bovine mammary glands by disruption of mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) pathways and calcium homeostasis.

Sublethal effects of atrazine concentrations exposure on tadpoles of Dendropsophus minutus: Evaluation of redox status, micronuclei frequencies and comet assay as biomarkers.

The herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid induces pancreatic β-cell death via oxidative stress-activated AMPKα signal downstream-regulated apoptotic pathway.

Mancozeb exposure disrupts endocrine function of the ovary and thyroid in Red Munia (Amandava amandava).

Metals/Metalloids

α-Lipoic Acid Ameliorates Arsenic-Induced Lipid Disorders by Promoting Peroxisomal β-Oxidation and Reducing Lipophagy in Chicken Hepatocyte.

Heritable dysregulation of DNA methylation may underlie the diabetogenic effects of paternal preconception exposure to inorganic arsenic in C57BL/6J mice.

Arsenic Exposure Induces Neural Cells Senescence and Abnormal Lipid Droplet Accumulation Leading to Social Memory Impairment in Mice.

Arsenic-induced mice model of Parkinson’s disease: Revealing the neurotoxicity of arsenic through mitochondrial complexes inhibition and dopaminergic neurodegeneration in the substantia nigra region of brain.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Polystyrene Nanoplastics Hitch-Hike the Gut-Brain Axis to Exacerbate Parkinson’s Pathology.

Investigation of potential toxic effects of nano- and microplastics on human endometrial stromal cells.

Exploring the co-occurrence of microplastics, DOM and DBPs inside PVC pipes undergoing chlorination by correlation analysis and unsupervised learning.

Antimony release from e-waste-derived microplastics in aqueous environments: Effect of plastic properties and environmental factors.

Toxicological effects and mechanisms of renal injury induced by inhalation exposure to airborne nanoplastics.

Co-exposure to F-53B and Nanoplastics induced hepatic glucolipid metabolism disorders by the PI3K-AKT Signaling Pathway.

Exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics induces lysosomal enlargement and lipid droplet accumulation in KGN human ovarian granulosa cells.

Oral exposure to nanoplastics altered lipid profiles in mouse intestine.

Characterization of microplastics in human follicular fluid and assessment of their potential impact on mouse oocyte maturation in vitro.

Synergistic neurotoxicity of clothianidin and photoaged microplastics in zebrafish: implications for neuroendocrine disruption.

Exposure to polyethylene terephthalate micro(nano)plastics exacerbates inflammation and fibrosis after myocardial infarction by reprogramming the gut and lung microbiota and metabolome.

Combined effects of co-exposure to microcystin-LR and polystyrene microplastics on growth, brain pathology and thyroid hormone homeostasis in adult zebrafish.

Effects of microplastics on chemo-resistance and tumorigenesis of colorectal cancer.

Subcellular toxicity assessments of microplastics released from food containers.

Sex differences in cardiac fibrosis induced by gestational exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics in mice offspring.

Polyethylene terephthalate nanoplastics-induced neurotoxicity in adult male Swiss albino mice with amelioration of betaine: a histopathological, neurochemical, and molecular investigation.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Efficient enrichment and sensitive determination of endocrine disruptors in PPCPs by novel magnetic covalent organic framework extraction coupled with HPLC-MS/MS.

Tire Wear Particles

6-PPD triggered lipid metabolism disorder and inflammatory response in larval zebrafish (Danio rerio) by regulating PPARγ/NF-κB pathway.

Effects of tire particles on earthworm (Eisenia andrei) fitness and bioaccumulation of tire-related chemicals.

Miscellaneous

Estrogenic activity of alkylcyclohexanones and alkylcyclohexanols in rainbow trout estrogen receptor binding and liver slices Vtg mRNA expression assays.

Screening for Endocrine Bioactivity Potential of Tobacco Product Chemicals Including Flavor Chemicals.

Influence of CYP1A and AhR modulation on polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon-induced developmental defects in Japanese medaka.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Variation in Proximity to Oil and Gas Well Pads across Race-Ethnicity and Income Groups in Colorado: An Inquiry into Distributive Environmental Justice Patterns.

Inequity of Exposure to Unconventional Natural Gas Development in Northeastern British Columbia, Canada─An Environmental Justice Analysis.

Who is living near different types of US Superfund sites: A latent class analysis considering site contaminant profiles.

Perceptions and awareness of endocrine disruptors among moms in Serbia and health implications.

Awareness and attitudes of pregnant women regarding endocrine disruptors.

Pharmaceuticals, Pesticides, and PFAS: Quantifying Endocrine Disrupting Compounds in Plastics and Fish Tissues Using Solvent Extraction and LC-MS/MS.

Silicone wristbands for assessing personal chemical exposures: impacts of movement on chemical uptake rates.

Fingerprinting risk from recycled plastic products using physical and chemical properties.

BPA/Phenols

Bisphenol A in Disposable Face Masks: A Novel Human Exposure Pathway and Impact on the Aquatic Environment.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Investigation of common and unreported parabens alongside other plastic-related contaminants in human milk using non-targeted strategies.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Monitor ing and assessment of population, reproductive, and health effects in colonial waterbirds breeding at contaminated Great Lakes sites in Michigan.

PFAS

Number of Carbons Is a Critical Parameter for Accumulation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in the Human Brain.

Destruction of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctadecanoic acid (PFOcDA) by incineration: Analysis of the by-products and their characteristics.

Per- and Poly-fluoroalkyl Substances (PFAS) in Sediment: a Source of PFAS to the Food Web?

Uptake of per- and polyfluorinated alkyl substances by dry farmed oats following the agricultural application of biosolids and compost.

Notes from the Field: Serum Concentrations of Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Among First Responders to the Maui Wildfires – Hawaii, September 2023.

Assessing perfluoroalkyl substance pollution in Central Mediterranean breeding shearwaters.

Surface soil per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance mixtures dominated by perfluorooctane sulfonate: prioritization for ecotoxicity testing and ecological risk assessment at current and former U.S. Air Force bases.

Contamination of Per- And Polyfluoroalkyl Substances in Freshwater Fish from Areas Adjacent to Three Former and Active Military Facilities in New York.

Flame Retardants

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in US meat, poultry, and siluriformes: 2018-19 levels, trends, and estimated consumer exposures.

Pesticides

Pesticide transformation products: a potential new source of interest for drinking water.

Semi-field studies on biochemical markers of honey bee workers (Apis mellifera) after exposure to pesticides and their mixtures.

Metals/Metalloids

A pilot study of mercury in Greenland sled dogs in Greenland: civilian versus military owned dogs. Greenlandic: Mississueqqaarneq Qimmit Qimuttut Aavani Meqquinilu Kviksiilveqarnersut.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Bioaccumulation of microplastics in decedent human brains.

The effects of a microplastic mixture on wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) across multiple life stages in an outdoor mesocosm experiment.

Microplastics in Antarctica – A plastic legacy in the Antarctic snow?

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Pharmaceuticals and personal care products in Canadian municipal wastewater and biosolids: occurrence, fate, and time trends 2010-2013 to 2022.

Accumulation of benzotriazole UV-stabilizers in relation to ingested plastics and associated health metrics in Larus gulls feeding at a landfill in Atlantic Canada.

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This list is not meant to be exhaustive, and generally does not include studies on detection, remediation, or treatment of EDCs. Industry-funded articles are included without notation. Note that journal publication dates may be different from dates added to PubMed. To see the searchable archives, please email me and ask to join the EDC Science Weekly group EDC_research@googlegroups.com. There are searchable archives. Compiled by Sarah Howard of Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS), a program of Environmental Health Sciences.

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EHN EHN

Lou Guillette Jr. Memorial Symposium
by Sarah Howard on February 14, 2025 at 3:36 pm
The agenda is now available for the March 14-15 Lou Guillette Jr. Memorial Symposium, hosted by HEEDS, at the University of Florida. It will celebrate the life and legacy of Dr. Guillette, gather together his trainees and colleagues, and focus on the endocrine disruption research that Lou made famous. Information and agenda here.
North Carolina EDC working group 5th annual meeting
by Sarah Howard on February 13, 2025 at 12:46 pm
On Friday, April 25, 2025, Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS) is hosting the 5th Annual Meeting of EDC-NC, its North Carolina working group on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Attendance is open to anyone and the cost is free. More information.
Webinar: Ultrashort-chain PFAS: the global threat of trifluoroacetic acid
by Sarah Howard on February 11, 2025 at 4:41 pm
This Feb. 19, 2025 webinar features Dr. Hans Peter Arp discussing TFA, a degradation product of many refrigerants and a widespread contaminant in the environment. Shorter-chain PFAS have been assumed to be less hazardous than longer-chain PFAS, but widespread exposures have not been taken into account in making this assessment. Sponsored by the EDC Strategies Partnership.

EHN EHN

HEEDS publishes timeline on the history of the EDC field
by Sarah Howard on February 14, 2025 at 3:30 pm
Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS) now provides a comprehensive history of the endocrine disruptor scientific field via an online timeline. Complete with citations, it covers industrial and scientific developments from the 1800s until today. Let us know what you think!
Natural antioxidants in food may help reduce microplastics' reproductive harm
by Katherine McMahon,Sarah Howard on February 13, 2025 at 7:14 pm
According to a recent review published in Journal of Pharmaceutical Analysis, anthocyanins - a plant compound responsible for the vibrant colors in fruits and flowers - may counteract some of the harmful reproductive impacts of micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) exposure. “The accumulation of [MNPs] contaminants across ecosystems raises significant concerns for human health due to their potential dispersion within the human body through respiratory, integumentary, and digestive systems.”
Microplastics may disrupt blood flow in the brain, study finds
by EHN Curators on February 13, 2025 at 8:47 am
Tiny plastic particles can accumulate in brain blood vessels, creating blockages that may reduce blood flow and impair motor function, according to new research in mice. Tom Perkins reports for The Guardian.

EHN EHN

“A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity”: Independent scientists advocate for an effective Global Plastics Treaty
by Sarah Howard,Katherine McMahon on February 18, 2025 at 5:11 pm
Members of the Scientists’ Coalition for an Effective Plastics Treaty, over 70 of whom attended the 5th negotiation session for the UN Plastics Treaty (INC5) in November, argue in a new article published in Cambridge Prisms: Plastics that the treaty must address the full life cycle of plastics and include production reduction targets. “It is critical that the treaty negotiations continue to be informed by independent science, to better ensure that when consensus is reached we have a global approach leading to reduced negative impacts from plastics across their entire life cycle."
Opinion: RFK Jr.’s disinformation is a rallying cry for women in STEM
by Kathryn Rodgers on February 14, 2025 at 7:58 pm
I have never been so motivated and grateful to be a woman in science as while watching Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s Senate Finance Committee nomination hearing. As an environmental health researcher, I know there is strong evidence that industrial and commercial chemicals are linked to increasing rates of neurodevelopmental disorders, cancer, asthma, and many other chronic diseases. However, RFK Jr. has clearly demonstrated he has very little understanding of public health, science, or women.
California law is pushing companies to ditch toxic chemicals
by EHN Curators on February 14, 2025 at 2:52 pm
California’s landmark warning-label law may be doing what critics said was impossible — getting companies to pull dangerous chemicals from their products. Hiroko Tabuchi reports for The New York Times.