EDC Science Weekly, Aug. 28 – Sept. 3, 2026

Post author:HEEDS
Post published:September 3, 2026
Post category:EDC Science Weekly

A summary of articles on endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) added to PubMed this week.

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

Highlight:

Therapeutic apheresis: An effective strategy for targeting circulating lipoproteins, inflammatory markers, PFAS, and microplastics?

Science summaries and highlights

Events

Sept. 7 webinar: Prioritizing and Grouping Food Contact Chemicals: From Chaos to Clarity [Food Packaging Forum]

Sept. 9 webinar: Beyond the Usual Suspects: New Evidence on Priority Understudied Chemicals in ECHO [Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO)]

Sept. 15 webinar: The Social Cost of Plastic [Beyond Plastics, Duke, NRDC]

Sept. 22-23: 2026 Plastics and Human Health Symposium (in NYC with streaming) [NYU Langone Health’s Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards (CIEH) and the Food Packaging Forum]

Sept. 30: Application due date for the HEEDS Lou Guillette Jr. Outstanding Young Investigator Award.

Oct. 1: Application due date for the Seeding Change/Agents of Change cohort.

Oct. 6 webinar: Glyphosate Science: Cancer, neurotoxicity & endocrine disruption [CHE]

Oct. 6 – Nov. 24 course: Plastics, Microplastics, and Human Health [Physician and Scientist Network Addressing Plastics and Health (P-SNAP)]

Oct. 8: Children’s Environmental Health Day [Children’s Environmental Health Network]

Oct. 13 workshop: What can nurses do about toxic chemicals? Toxics 101, Communicating Effectively About the Science and Health Effects & Opportunities for Action [Alliance of Nurses for Healthy Environments (ANHE)]

Oct. 13 Grand Rounds: Growing Up in a Chemical World: Emerging Contaminants and Children’s Health [New England PEHSU and Boston Children’s Hospital]

Dec. 15 due date for Call for Papers: Microplastics, Community Health, and Public Health Actions [American Journal of Public Health]

Mar. 31 due date for Call For Papers: The Chemical Safety Knowledge Landscape: Mapping What We Know and What We Need to Know [ACS Publications]

Regulations/Policy

NAMs without context of use slow EU adoption.

Translating Zebrafish Science into Regulatory Utility: A Critical Gap Analysis of OECD Test Guidelines.

Leveraging public NAM data to support regulatory hazard assessment: A tebuconazole case study under Korean and EU biocidal product regulation frameworks.

Advances in New Approach Methodologies at FDA’s Division of Applied Regulatory Science.

The global plastics treaty must account for conflict-driven energy insecurity.

Perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances pollution from hospitals: Implications of expanding European legislation on anaesthetic practices.

More EDC policy, FPF’s regulations open for comment, and Science’s Trump-Tracker.

Methods/Tools/Screening

Toxicologic Pathology Forum: ESTP/STP Working Group Opinion on the Evolving Landscape of New Approach Methodologies in Drug and Chemical Safety Development.

A multi-pathway mechanism-informed read-across framework for screening developmental and reproductive toxicity priorities among data-poor PFAS.

Graph attention-guided multi-modal learning for high-throughput screening of environmental chemicals associated with breast cancer risk.

PolluCarc-MFSE: A Multi-Fingerprint Stacking Ensemble Learning Model for Chemical Pollutant Carcinogenicity.

Zebrafish as an Integrated Analytical Framework for Mechanistic and Predictive Toxicity Assessment of Emerging Nano-Contaminants.

Modular Liver-on-a-Chip Platform for Accelerating Toxicological Applications: A Case Study of Triphenyl Phosphate Hepatotoxicity.

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Mechanisms by which “Everywhere” and “Forever” Environmental Chemicals Impact Ovarian Function and Female Fertility. [phthalates and PFAS]

Environmental Exposures and Pregnancy Loss: A Critical Gap Analysis for Unexplained Recurrent Pregnancy Loss.

Joint Toxicant and Psychosocial Exposures and Health: A Scoping Review of Evidence and Analytic Approaches.

Impacts of Environmental Pollutants on Innate Immunity: The Role of Group 2 Innate Lymphoid Cells.

Food-Borne Environmental Contaminants, Intestinal Injury, and Early Childhood Stunting: A Developmental Toxicology Perspective.

Oxidative Stress after Pollutant Exposure Depends Strongly on Experimental Design and Pollutant Properties in Annelids: A Meta-Analysis.

Bioinorganic interactions between PFAS and transition metals and their effects on toxicity and environmental persistence.

Bisphenols/Phthalates

Bisphenol A and ovarian cancer: emerging evidence and potential biological mechanisms.

Neuroendocrine Disruption of Reproduction by Bisphenols and Phthalates: From Molecular Mechanisms to Reproductive Outcomes.

Phthalates and Alternative Plasticizers in Female Reproductive Health and Pregnancy: From Epidemiological Evidence to Nuclear Receptor-Mediated Mechanisms: A State-of-the-Art Review.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

The role of organochlorine pesticides as environmental factors in Alzheimer’s disease in human studies: A systematic review and meta-analysis

A review on the environmental distribution, toxic effects, bioaccumulation characteristics and risk assessment of short-chain chlorinated paraffins.

PFAS

Beyond Total PFAS: Isomer Composition Matters for Water Quality and Human Exposure Studies.

From forever to fluoride: A critical review of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (PFAS) occurrence, fate, and the transition from sequestration to destruction-based remediation in groundwater.

Bivalency Erosion as a Unifying Mechanism of PFAS Inter- and Transgenerational Neurotoxicity

Pesticides

A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Glyphosate-Based Herbicide Exposure and Risk of Non-Hodgkin Lymphoma.

Unraveling the exposure pathways and toxicity mechanisms of representative systemic insecticides in amphibians.

Metals/Metalloids/Elements

Rare Earth Elements in Testicular Function: Current Knowledge and Future Directions.

Toxic Metal-Essential Trace Element Imbalance in Cardiometabolic Disease: Ferroptosis as a Mechanistic Link Between Environmental Exposure and Vascular Injury.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Functional Foods and Micro- and Nanoplastics: Advances in Precision Nutritional Medicine for Oral-Gut-Brain Axis Health.

Microplastic and nanoplastic interactions with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in soils: a critical review of main findings and knowledge gaps.

Microplastics in bottled water and human health outcomes: a systematic review of multi-organ toxicity and mechanistic pathways.

Microplastics as an emerging threat to ecosystems: a comprehensive review of their interactions with contaminants, toxicological implications, monitoring and remediation strategies.

Are there any common effects in preclinical models of micro- and nanoplastic (MNP) exposure? A systematic review.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Therapeutic apheresis: An effective strategy for a combined targeting of circulating lipoproteins, inflammatory markers, PFAS, and microplastics in cardiometabolic and neurodegenerative disease?

Environmental Exposure to Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals and SARS-CoV-2 Infection History Among Blood Donors.

Prenatal environmental determinants of aromatase brain-promoter methylation in cord blood: chemical, airborne, pharmacological, and nutritional factors.

Breast Cancer Incidence and Groundwater Contamination in Southwestern Ohio: An Ecological Analysis of Communities Overlying the Great Miami Buried Valley Aquifer.

Urinary biomarkers of emerging contaminants in relation to prevalent Parkinson’s disease: An exploratory mixture and network toxicology study.

Bisphenols

Metabolic alterations bridge exposure to urinary halogenated phenols and bisphenols to dyslipidemia: Evidence from an e-waste recycling area.

Phthalates

Associations of Maternal Phthalate Exposure in the First Trimester with Preterm Birth: A Prospective Birth Cohort Study.

PFAS

PFAS internal exposure levels across two generations and endocrine-metabolic biomarker associations in women from the French E3N-Generations cohort.

Associations between legacy and emerging per and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) bioaccumulation and clinicopathological characteristics in breast cancer.

Associations of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure with arterial stiffness: Evidence from NHANES 2011-2018.

Pesticides

The distribution of neonicotinoids and their metabolites in paired semen and urine samples and associations with male reproductive hormones.

Early-Life Exposure to Organophosphorus Pesticide Mixtures and Impaired Neonatal Neurodevelopment: A Cohort Study Integrating Comprehensive Multi-Omics and Machine Learning.

Metals/Metalloids

Maternal Exposure to Essential and Non-Essential Metals and Thyroid Hormone Status in a Canadian Pregnancy Cohort.

Association between arsenic exposure and the risk of Alzheimer’s disease: A cohort study in Sweden [and related commentary, The arsenic-Alzheimer’s disease link: Emerging evidence and unanswered questions]

Arsenic species and lipid metabolism under low-to-moderate arsenic exposure: evidence from NHANES and a Chinese adult population.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Screening for Suspected Microplastic-like Particles in Post-Mortem Human Liver: Correlating Histopathological Alterations with Clinical Profiles.

Air Pollution

Air Pollution Impairs Marathon Performance: A Cross-Sectional Analysis of 2.7 Million Finishers Across Six World Marathon Majors.

China’s Clean Heating Policy and Effects on Blood Pressure in Rural Beijing Adults

The association between prenatal PM_2.5 constituent exposure and gestational diabetes mellitus: Exploratory analysis of the potential modifying role of thyroid hormones.

Changes in PM2.5 exposure due to residential relocation and mortality among United States Veterans.

Miscellaneous

Aromatic amine antioxidants (AAs) and p-phenylenediamine quinones (PPD-Qs) exposure, thyroid hormones, and cognitive function in older adults: Association and potential mediation analyses.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Multi-omics, machine learning, and molecular simulation identify CD44 as a candidate target in endocrine-disrupting chemical-associated thyroid cancer progression.

Bisphenols

From embryo to sexual maturity: chronic BPA exposure under elevated contamination scenarios induces multi-organ toxicity in marine medaka (Oryzias melastigma).

Bisphenol mixture impairs offspring social memory via an H4K8 Lactylation-Fyn-Microglial synaptic pruning axis.

Bisphenol M Induces Dose-Dependent Hepatic Injury and Fibrotic Remodeling in Female Mice.

Bisphenol A promotes colorectal cancer malignancy through CXCL8 upregulation associated with p38 MAPK activation: A potential link to type 2 diabetes mellitus comorbidity.

Bisphenol A aggravates colitis-associated intestinal epithelial injury: Mitochondrial dysfunction and CASP1-associated inflammatory signaling.

Systematic Screening of Depression-Related Neurotoxicity Across 26 Bisphenols Reveals an ESR1-CREB1-GRIN2B-Associated Mechanism.

Urtica dioica L. Alleviates Bisphenol A-Induced Testicular Toxicity in Rats via Modulation of Oxidative Stress, Inflammation, and Apoptosis.

FN1-associated cavernous endothelial remodeling induced by bisphenol A: relevance to erectile dysfunction and attenuation by baicalin.

Phthalates

Chronic Monobutyl Phthalate Exposure Promotes Anaplastic Thyroid Cancer Progression Through Inflammatory Signaling Dysregulation: Integrated Transcriptomic and Network Toxicology Analyses.

Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate and Mono(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate upregulate PPARG and induce metabolic reprogramming in hepatocellular carcinoma cells: a pan-cancer and metabolomics study.

Seminal Vesicle Abnormalities and Exploratory miR-664-5p and FOXO Findings in Aged Mice Following Long-Term Butyl Benzyl Phthalate Exposure.

Reduction of cell viability and alteration of genomic DNA methylation by phthalates in a normal human fibroblast (NHF) cell line in vitro.

Exploring the Molecular Mechanisms by Which DEHP Promotes the Occurrence and Progression of Kidney Stones Based on Network Toxicology and Experimental Validation.

Perinatal exposure to the environmental pollutant butyl benzyl phthalate (BBP) induces sex-specific alterations in the neuro-immune-endocrine network in adult rats.

Dibutyl phthalate disrupts ESR1-GPX4 redox signaling and aggravates ovarian dysfunction in a PCOS-like mouse model.

Lycopene Attenuates DEHP-Induced Cerebral Injury by Suppressing cGAS-STING-Mediated Microglial Activation.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Methylparaben promotes colorectal tumor growth through nuclear receptor-mediated transcriptional reprogramming and inflammatory signaling: Evidence from integrated transcriptomics and network toxicology.

PFAS

Subchronic GenX Exposure Induces Hepatic Alterations Accompanied by Changes in PPAR-Related Lipid Metabolism and Autophagy-Related Proteins in Adult Male C57BL/6J Mice: Partial Attenuation by Chlorogenic Acid.

In vivo and in vitro assessment of absorption and disposition kinetics of bis[2-(perfluorohexyl)ethyl] phosphate in rats: food effect, physiologically-based modeling, and human exposure estimation.

Ultrashort-Chain Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances and Cholestasis: In Vitro Evidence of Liver Dysfunction from Emerging Environmental Contaminants.

Perfluoroalkylated polymeric constructs bypass endosomal entrapment to stimulate transnuclear delivery in proliferating and non-proliferating cells.

Flame Retardants

Environmental risks and cytotoxic effects of the organophosphorus flame-retardant tris (2-chloroethyl) phosphate (TCEP) on aquatic organisms: An assessment using the Artemia model.

ROS-mediated autophagy-apoptosis crosstalk regulates cell fate in the marine microalga Isochrysis galbana under BDE-47 stress.

Uncovering parental exposure risks of TCPP: Impaired development and metabolic homeostasis in zebrafish offspring.

Pesticides

Diet modulates metabolic and hepatic responses to chronic pesticide mixture exposure in mice.

Vitamin E Attenuates Glyphosate-Induced Multi-Organ Toxicity and Redox Imbalance in Rats: Biochemical and Histopathological Evidence.

Effect of atrazine and curcumin on mouse I-10 Leydig cells: steroidogenesis and beyond.

Chronic glyphosate exposure compromises male reproductive health: Golgi dysfunction mediating spermatogenesis impairment.

Tolylfluanid induces oxidative stress-associated calcium dysregulation and mitochondrial dysfunction in porcine trophectoderm and uterine luminal epithelial cells.

Early-life exposure to flusilazole causes transgenerational cardiac developmental defects in zebrafish and its potential causes.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Polystyrene nanoplastics exposure induces reproductive toxicity in male mice associated with the gut-liver/testis axis.

Polystyrene Nanoplastics Disrupt Immune Cell Development and Suppress T Cell Activation via mTOR and ERK Signaling.

Polystyrene nanoparticles impair endometrial decidualization in early pregnant mice via oxidative stress-driven autophagy suppression and ferroptosis induction.

Environmental Polyethylene Terephthalate Micro- and Nanoplastics Promote Clear Cell Renal Cell Carcinoma Progression Through Mitochondrial ROS-Associated AKT/GSK3β/β-Catenin Signaling.

Transcriptomic and Metabolomic Analysis Reveals That Polystyrene Microplastics Exacerbate Cadmium-Induced Liver Damage in Mice Associated with AMPK-FOXO-Mediated Energy Metabolism Dysregulation.

Microplastics Exacerbate Cadmium-Induced Hepatotoxicity via the IRE1α/TXNIP/NLRP3 Axis-Driven Endoplasmic Reticulum Stress and Pyroptosis.

Irregularly Shaped Microplastic Particles Compromise the Integrity of the Glomerular Filtration Barrier of the Kidney

Acute oral dose toxicity study of micro- and nano-plastics of polystyrene in female Wistar albino rats.

Environmentally relevant polyethylene terephthalate (PET) microplastics induce functional and oxidative alterations in sheep placental cells In vitro.

Effects of polystyrene microplastics and nanoplastics on the hypothalamic-pituitary-testicular axis of Japanese quail.

Nanoplastic Particle Exposure Induces Toxicity and Amplifies Cellular Stress in THP-1 Macrophages: Insights on Molecular Pathways and Circulating Proteome Interaction.

Exposure to TBBPA and polystyrene nanoplastics induces cardiac fibrosis via the activation of the ESR/H19/Wnt pathway.

Nanoplastics induce β-cells dysfunction via the p-AKT/c-FOS/c-JUN signaling axis.

The Effects of Microplastics on Sperm Motility: An In Vitro Experimental Study.

Repeated oral exposure to polyethylene microplastics induces thyroid toxicity in rats: Evidence from in vivo toxicokinetics and multi-omics analyses.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Integrated multi-omics, machine learning, network toxicology, and molecular docking reveal potential mechanisms underlying methyl 4-hydroxybenzoate-associated breast cancer.

Chronic exposure to environmentally relevant benzophenones induces male reproductive dysfunction via ER-mediated disulfidptosis: therapeutic potential of zeaxanthin dipalmitate.

Endocrine Disrupting Effects of Estrone on Male Siniperca chuatsi: From Gonadal Remodeling to Gene Regulation.

Tire Wear Chemicals

Short-Term 6PPD-Q Exposure alters Tight-Junction-Related Gene Expression Without Acute Lethality in Japanese Medaka Oryzias latipes.

Environmental levels of 6PPD and 6PPD-Q induced neurotoxicity in zebrafish: Insights from molecular dynamics simulation, neurotransmitters, and transcriptomic analysis.

A novel dual-pathway AhR mechanism underpins cardiac senescence induced by 6PPDQ.

Simultaneously PYCR-1 and ALH-6 inhibition exacerbates 6-PPD quinone toxicity via disrupting proline and glutamate metabolisms and activating insulin signals in Caenorhabditis elegans.

Miscellaneous

The Environmental Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbon (PAH) Benzo[a]pyrene (BP) Alters SARS-CoV-2 Pathogenesis in a Mouse Model of Disease.

Benzo[a]pyrene-induced AHR activation in human ESCs primes premature neurogenesis in cerebral organoids.

Hepatic toxicological and multi-omics alterations associated with short- and long-term nonylphenol exposure in mice.

Maternal transfer of nonylphenol drives oxidative, immune, and epigenetic dysregulation in zebrafish offspring.

From gut leakage to memory loss: environmental 2,4-DTBP triggers neuroinflammation through the gut-brain axis in zebrafish.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Associations of Phthalate, Organophosphate Flame Retardant, and Bisphenol Exposures with Lifestyle Behaviors and Residential Environmental Factors Among Early Adolescents: The Hokkaido Study.

Bisphenols

Aggregated Exposure to Bisphenol A in China: A Holistic Risk Assessment via Oral, Dermal, and Inhalation Routes.

Phthalates

Occurrence and concentrations of phthalates, alternative plasticizers and other additives in food samples from the German market.

Health bill beneath the plastic feast: A phthalate contamination alert from takeout food containers.

Effectiveness of a Web-Based Educational eHealth Platform on Women’s Health Literacy About Phthalate Exposure: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Elephant Seal Blubber Under Multiple Stressors: Persistent Organic Pollutants, Stress Hormones and Hydrostatic Pressure Alter Transcriptome, Lipolysis and Leptin Secretion.

PFAS

Intraspecies Variation of Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances Bioaccumulation in a Coastal Marine Organism Near a Megacity.

From glacier to delta: Spatial distribution of PFAS and tire-derived contaminants along the entire Rhône River continuum.

PFAS in Australian raptor species: terrestrial biomonitors of environmental contamination in changing ecosystems.

Pesticides

Dietary Risk of Neonicotinoids and Other Pesticides in Mexican Children Residing in Agroindustrial Zones.

Recent and ever exposure predictors of urinary pesticide biomarkers among children in South Africa: A two – year longitudinal study.

Patterns of pesticide use and potential health risks among men and women farmers in Rwanda: Practices, behaviors, and knowledge in Eastern Province.

Assessment of pesticide deposition in household dust based on passive Petri dish sampling followed by QuEChERS extraction.

Context-dependent prevalence of neonicotinoid insecticides in a predatory songbird, the loggerhead shrike (Lanius ludovicianus).

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Airborne microplastics: a comprehensive analysis of indoor and outdoor pollution patterns.

Low abundance but high microplastic toxicity and potential ecological risks in a drinking-water source.

How do microplastics move through water and land? Earth scientists find ways to track their journey.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Whole-lake exposure to a widespread estrogenic pollutant leads to unanticipated reproductive behaviors in wild fish.

Miscellaneous

Global multi-media distribution and transport of 6PPD and 6PPD-Q: a source-to-sink continuum.

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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.

If you enjoy this newsletter, please feel free to donate here! Thank you!

EHN EHN

Course: Plastics, microplastics, and human health
by Sarah Howard on August 25, 2026 at 12:19 pm
The Physician and Scientist Network Addressing Plastics and Health (P-SNAP) is holding an online course on Tuesdays from Oct. 6 to Nov. 24 geared to physicians, researchers and healthcare personnel. Info/register here.
Lou Guillette, Jr. Outstanding Young Investigator Award
by Sarah Howard on July 24, 2026 at 12:33 pm
Due Sept. 30! HEEDS is accepting applications for the 2026 Lou Guillette, Jr. Outstanding Young Investigator Award. Sponsored by Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS), the award honors the late scientist and mentor, Lou Guillette, Jr. Information here.
Plastics and human health symposium
by Sarah Howard on July 15, 2026 at 12:36 pm
The third annual symposium on plastics and health will be held at NYU and streamed online on Sept. 22-23, 2026. The event will focus on individual environments where plastics abound and discuss opportunities and effects of solutions, focusing on the science-policy interface. Sponsored by NYU Langone Health's Center for the Investigation of Environmental Hazards (CIEH) and the Food Packaging Forum. Register here.

EHN EHN

Use of scented products increases air pollution inside homes
by Environmental Health Sciences Staff on September 12, 2026 at 12:40 am
A recent study published in Environment International found that the use of scented products like incense, oil diffusers, and candles significantly raises air pollution levels indoors.
Study unveils chemistry of destroying ‘forever chemicals’
by EHN Curators on September 10, 2026 at 4:54 pm
UC Riverside environmental engineers have identified key chemical reactions that occur when ultraviolet light is used to destroy “forever chemical” pollutants in water, providing a roadmap for developing more effective cleanup technologies.
How microplastics may weaken the human immune system
by EHN Curators on September 10, 2026 at 4:49 pm
Microplastics have become one of the most pervasive signs of the industrial age, turning up in the deepest ocean trenches, on alpine peaks, in the food we eat and the air we breathe.

EHN EHN

EPA coordinated with Bayer on reapproval for controversial herbicide dicamba
by EHN Curators on September 11, 2026 at 12:20 pm
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) worked directly with pesticide maker Bayer in approving the controversial herbicide dicamba earlier this year.
Ask a scientist: How can we make sure environmental rules work in the real world?
by EHN Curators on September 10, 2026 at 4:59 pm
A new report examines how cumulative impacts analysis could help states and communities build stronger, more equitable environmental protections.
Sunscreen safety in Australia: Why researchers are calling for stricter regulations on chemical UV filters
by EHN Curators on September 10, 2026 at 4:20 pm
The chemical, found in dozens of popular sunscreens, can potentially act as an endocrine disruptor.