EDC Science Weekly, Feb. 6-12, 2026 – HEEDS

EDC Science Weekly, Feb. 6-12, 2026

Post author:HEEDS
Post published:February 12, 2026
Post category:EDC Science Weekly

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

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

Events

Feb. 12 webinar (today!): EDCs & Reproductive Health: Effects of chemical mixtures on ovarian function [EDC Strategies Partnership]

Feb. 27 webinar: Endocrine Disruptors and Toxic Additives in Headphones Across the European Market [ToxFree LIFE for All]

Feb. 26 webinar: The Plastics Lifecycle: Implications for climate change [CHE-Alaska]

Feb. 27 application due date for the Endocrine Society’s Kaiser-Goldberg Research Fellowship program.

Mar. 5 webinar: Chemical Recycling of Plastics: Health concerns & technological limits [CHE]

Mar. 12 webinar: How to get plastic out of student meals [Beyond Plastics]

May 6: ECHO Symposium: Translating Science to Action (hybrid) [NIH]

June 28 – July 3: New and emerging threats, approaches, and mitigation strategies for environmental endocrine disruptors [Gordon Research Conference] and accompanying Gordon Research Seminar June 27 – 28, Harnessing interdisciplinary evidence for endocrine disruption.

Oct. 12-16, conference: MICRO 2026: Plastic pollution from macro to nano [in Cadiz, Spain]

Methods/Tools/Screening

Mechanism Based Hierarchical Machine Learning for High-Throughput Quantitative Prediction of Estrogenic, Androgenic, and Thyroid Disruption Activities.

Physiologically Relevant 3D CRISPR Screening Enhances Mechanistic Insight into Chemical Toxicity Compared to 2D Screening.

Shaping a dynamic open platform for the holistic assessment of micro- and nano-plastic emissions from plastic products.

Solid-Phase Microextraction (SPME) for Food Safety: Recent Innovations in Monitoring Anthropogenic Endocrine Disruptors.

Reviews/Meta-Analyses

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

The gut-brain axis mediates precocious puberty induced by environmentally relevant low-dose endocrine-disrupting chemical mixtures.

Environmental pollutants and the gut microbiota: mechanistic links from exposure to systemic disease.

Association between Particulate Matter (PM₂.₅), Nitrogen Dioxide (NO₂), Bisphenol A (BPA), and Phthalates and Infertility Outcomes: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Bisphenols

Role of Bisphenol A and its Analogues on Epigenetics and their Impact on the Developmental Origins of Female and Male Reproductive Disorders.

Bisphenol S toxicity in zebrafish: endocrine, neurobehavioural, and metabolic disruptions.

Pesticides

Glyphosate Exposure and Metabolic Syndrome: A Scoping Review of Epidemiological and Mechanistic Evidence.

Metals/Metalloids

The gut-brain axis in arsenic-induced toxicity: mechanisms, consequences, and therapeutic perspectives.

Long-Term Effects of Arsenic Poisoning during Infancy Due to Contaminated Milk Powder: A Systematic Review.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Nanoplastic toxicology following gestational and lactational exposure.

Microplastics exposure during perinatal period: Impacts on neonatal immune and metabolic programming – a scoping review.

Size-dependent toxicological effects of microplastics: A review.

Impact of Nanoparticles and Nanoplastics on Female Reproductive Health.

Plastic pollution in human reproduction: should we worry?

Micro-nanoplastics in the central nervous system: evidence, mechanisms and perspectives.

Micro/nanoplastic-mediated gut dysbiosis and its impact on cardiac and neuroimmune function in zebrafish model: A multi-omics approach.

Micro- and Nanoplastics and PM2.5 in Cardiovascular Disease: Emerging Mechanisms, Impacts, and Therapeutic Insights.

Human Health Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in follicular fluid: implications for assisted reproductive technology outcomes.

Joint effects of prenatal PM_2.5 and heavy metals on preterm birth: evidence from a nested case-control study in China.

Bisphenols

Exposure to bisphenol analogues and risk of anemia in young adults.

Phthalates

Early life phthalate and replacement plasticizer exposures and changes in early childhood brain functional connectivity and structural morphology.

Serum biomarkers of phthalate exposure, adipose tissue metabolites and 20-years incidence of elevated LDL levels: an exploratory exposome study in the GraMo cohort.

Iatrogenic plasticizer Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP) exposure increases Sepsis mortality risk: Machine learning implicates monocyte-driven immune dysregulation.

Parabens/Triclosan/Antimicrobials

Association between urine triclocarban concentration and the prevalence of hypertension based on a cross-sectional study.

PFAS

Associations between prenatal and adolescent per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) exposure and pubertal development as well as endocrine hormones in girls from the Sheyang Mini Birth Cohort.

Prenatal PFAS exposure and childhood respiratory allergic diseases: Findings from Shanghai Birth cohort Consortium.

Serum per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) concentrations and anti-spike SARS-CoV-2 IgG levels following COVID-19 vaccination: A cross-sectional study in three communities with elevated PFAS exposure.

Age disparities in PFAS-associated influenza-like illness among adult females at low exposure levels.

Single versus mixed perfluorinated compound exposures and cardiovascular disease risk: mechanistic insights from cross-sectional data and molecular interactions.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in drinking water and cancer prevalence in the United States.

Flame Retardants

Association between organophosphorus flame retardant exposure and chronic kidney disease in U.S. adults: NHANES data from 2011 to 2016.

Associations Between Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers and Biological Aging in NHANES 2005-2010 and 2015-2016.

Organic phosphate flame retardants exposure and neuroaxonal injury in adults: a systematic study integrating human data and network toxicology.

Pesticides

Associations of prenatal exposure to organophosphate pesticides with eczema and allergic rhinoconjunctivitis in 4-year-old children: The Japan Environment and Children’s Study.

Kidney cancer and occupational agricultural exposures in the AGRIculture and CANcer cohort.

Prenatal Exposure to Emerging Pesticides and Childhood Allergy Risk: A Mixture Assessment in an Urban Birth Cohort.

Metals/Metalloids

A study on the association between early-pregnancy hair metal levels and gestational diabetes mellitus.

Urinary metal exposure, systemic inflammation, and advanced cardiovascular-kidney-metabolic syndrome risk in US adults.

Possible adverse effects of mining activity on the neurocognitive development of children in the area of Cerro de Pasco (Perú).

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

A Case-Control Study Linking Concentrations of Microplastics in Human Cerebrospinal Fluid to Intracranial Aneurysm Risk.

Pharmaceuticals/Personal Care Products

Hair care product use among pregnant women of color: protocol for a feasibility educational intervention.

Association of exposure to personal care product chemicals with maternal thyroid health: a prospective cohort study integrated with targeted risk assessment for environmental chemicals strategy.

Laboratory Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Development and validation of a novel senescence-associated gene signature for prediction of survival and endocrine-disrupting chemicals in bladder cancer.

The contribution of phenolic endocrine-disrupting chemicals to breast cancer risk: A comprehensive bioinformatics analysis.

Bisphenols

Mechanistic Insights of BPA Alternatives on PPARγ Binding and the Consequence on Adipocyte Differentiation.

Chronic co-exposure to BPA and alcohol synergizes hepatotoxicity via dysregulation of glycerolipid metabolism and ceramide/HtrA2-driven apoptosis in HepG2 cells.

Environmental bisphenols hijack the Hmox1 and Cdh1 to trigger premature ovarian insufficiency: A multi-omics investigation.

Protective Effects of Myrtus communis Essential Oil Against Bisphenol A-Induced Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Fatty Liver Disease in Wistar Rats.

Phthalates

Targeting aryl hydrocarbon receptor signaling attenuates hypertension programmed by maternal Di-2-ethylhexylphthalate exposure.

Taurine Restores Oocyte Quality by Enhancing Mitochondrial Function in Mice Exposed to Dibutyl Phthalate during Adolescence.

Environmental Dose MEOHP Promotes Bladder Cancer Progress through Hybrid EMT Mechanism: Based on the Adverse Outcome Pathway.

Analysis of the molecular mechanism underlying di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate-induced bladder carcinogenesis via network toxicology and molecular docking approaches: An observational study.

Elucidating the toxicological impact and mechanism of plasticizers exposure on Alzheimer’s disease through network toxicology and molecular docking.

Integrative network toxicology and experimental evidence reveal mechanisms underlying diethyl phthalate-induced initiation and progression of endometrial cancer.

PFAS

PFOA and co-exposure with PFOS induce AMPK-dependent hypoglycemia in mice: integrated evidence from physiology, multi-omics, and molecular docking.

PFOS and PFOA exposure induces liver injury and sex-dependent immune effects in C57BL/6 mice.

Hepatocyte ATP5J2 mediates mitochondrial GSDMD-N translocation to the plasma membrane under PFOS exposure.

Metabolomics-Based Investigation of PFOS-Induced Molecular Perturbations Across Multiple Rat Organs.

PFOS promotes Alzheimer’s disease through aggravating the cell apoptosis and AKT/GSK3β/NF-κB/NLRP3 pathway mediated inflammation.

Hexafluoropropylene oxide trimer acid is an unsafe substitute to perfluorooctanoic acid: the perspectives of intestinal microflora and hepatotoxicity in frog.

Differential Toxicity of Perfluorooctane Sulfonate (PFOS) in Wild-Type and Oatp1d1 Mutant Zebrafish Larvae.

Structural Insights into PFAS-β-Lactoglobulin-Binding Mechanism Mediating PFAS Toxicity.

Effects of gestational perfluorohexanesulfonic acid exposure at human realistic dose on social communication deficit in mouse offspring.

Flame Retardants

A ubiquitous organophosphate flame retardant disrupts energy and glucose homeostasis in mice.

Environmental flame retardant EHDPP stabilizes EGFR to accelerate lung cancer progression: Integrated network toxicology, bioinformatics, and in vitro evidence.

Pesticides

Imidacloprid Exposure at Population-Relevant Doses Induces Hepatic Lipid Dysregulation: Exploring the Role of cGAS-STING Pathway-Mediated Hepatocyte Senescence.

Suppression of haptoglobin and loss of striatal neurons in mice chronically exposed to chlorpyrifos contaminated drinking water.

Metals/Metalloids

Subchronic arsenic exposure induced intestinal microbiota dysbiosis and intestinal inflammation via activating the NF-κB signaling pathway.

Study on the effects of gestational arsenic exposure on the developmental toxicity of brain tissue in mice offspring using network toxicology and RNA-seq.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Polylactic acid microplastic exposure induced male reproductive toxicity and decreased testosterone levels by accelerating Leydig cell senescence.

Plastic poisoning the next generation: omics-anchored partial-adverse outcome pathway affords a glimpse into how gestational polystyrene nano-plastics exposure compromises adult male offspring reproduction.

Early-life exposure to polystyrene nanoplastics at ambient doses induces neurotoxicity via mTOR-mediated autophagy-lysosomal dysfunction and proteostasis imbalance.

Orthodontic derived microplastics impact macrophage differentiation and homeostasis.

Polyethylene Microplastics Disrupt Cardiopulmonary Homeostasis via Oxidative Stress, Inflammatory Crosstalk, and Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Wistar Rats.

Uptake of polystyrene nanoplastics by cumulus-oocyte complexes impairs oocyte and embryo development.

Microplastics drives ILC2s function and fatty acid metabolism in allergic airway inflammation via PPARγ signaling.

Nanoplastics Impair GnRH Neuron Migration and Neuroendocrine Function: Emerging Players in the Pathogenesis of Reproductive Disorders.

Dose-Dependent Toxicological Effects of Polyvinyl Chloride and Polystyrene Microplastics on Wistar Albino Rats.

Transgenerational epigenetic inheritance in Daphnia magna exposed to polyethylene microplastic fragments containing benzophenone-3 additive.

Tiny plastic, big trouble: how polystyrene nanoparticles impact DNA-damage repair deficient cervical cancer cells.

Ingestion of a human-relevant mixture of environmentally sourced microplastics promotes inflammation and tumorigenesis in the mouse colon.

Combined Enterohepatic Toxicity of Polystyrene Microplastics and Di(2-ethylhexyl) Phthalate in Mice: Gut Microbiota-Dependent Synergistic Effects.

Micro/Nanoplastics enhance multigenerational reproductive toxicity of legacy and alternative per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in the marine rotifer Brachionus plicatilis.

Air Pollution

Maternal Fine Particulate Matter Exposure Impairs Inguinal White Adipose Tissue Plasticity in Middle-Aged Male Mouse Offspring.

Exposure/Environment Studies

Numerous Chemicals/Mixtures

Urinary levels of phenolic compounds in women working in beauty salons.

The presence of endocrine disrupting chemicals in sanitary pads: A study done in South Africa.

Sweat-Wearable Biosensors for Real-Time Monitoring of Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals: Materials, Analytics, and Public-Health Integration: Wearables for Endocrine-Disrupting Chemicals

Persistent Organic Pollutants: PCBs, Dioxin, OCPs

Long-range transport of POPs to the central Atlantic Ocean: using a resident population of bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) as sentinel species.

Trends of persistent organic pollutants in three dolphin species from the Southern California bight during 1990-2012.

PFAS

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in waters associated with oil and gas development in the Denver Basin.

Widespread PFAS Contamination in Pet Food: Dietary Sources and Health Risks to Companion Animals.

Tracking PFAS across Environmental Media Surrounding Fluorochemical Industrial Park: Insights from Nontarget Analysis and Risk Assessment.

PFAS concentrations and compositional profiles in great tit (Parus major) feathers, faecal samples and blood plasma: Implications for non-invasive monitoring.

PFAS exposure of juvenile loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) from the Western Mediterranean Sea to 36 PFAS and its association with oxidative stress.

Flame Retardants

Contamination of Organophosphate Esters in Soil Surrounding Paint Factories: Machine Learning-based Distribution Prediction and Risk Prioritization Assessment.

Organotins

Health risks of exposure to organotin compounds via seafood consumption after their legal ban.

Microplastics/Nanomaterials

Microplastics found in Weddell seal placenta in Antarctica, potential threatening marine ecosystem health.

Miscellaneous

What research exists on the presence of 6PPD-Q in different environmental media? A systematic map protocol.

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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

Gordon Research Conference on environmental endocrine disruptors
by Sarah Howard on January 16, 2026 at 4:02 pm
This year's Gordon Research Conference on endocrine disruptors will be held June 28-July 3, with the accompanying Gordon Research Seminar on June 27-28, in Newry, Maine. These conferences bring together graduate students, post-docs, professors, and researchers who work on endocrine disrupting chemicals, and are an invaluable source of discussion. Apply to attend and submit your abstract by January 20th if you would like to be considered for one of these short talks using this link.
National PFAS Conference
by Sarah Howard on January 15, 2026 at 10:15 pm
The University of Arizona is hosting the National PFAS Conference, in person in Tucson on June 8-10, 2026.
Webinar recording: Effects of chemical mixtures on ovarian function
by Sarah Howard on January 15, 2026 at 7:07 pm
In this Feb. 12 webinar, Dr. Shuo Xiao introduced his lab research that focuses on integrating in vivo, in vitro, and in silico models to study the impacts of real-world mixtures of endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) on female ovarian function, reproductive outcomes, and the molecular mechanisms involved. Dr. Xiao is the 2025 winner of the Lou Guillette, Jr Outstanding Young Investigator Award from Healthy Environment and Endocrine Disruptor Strategies (HEEDS), a program of Environmental Health Sciences. Sponsored by the EDC Strategies Partnership and Young EDC Scientists Showcase (YESS).

EHN EHN

Every stage of plastic use — from production to disposal — harms human health
by Environmental Health Sciences Staff on March 6, 2026 at 2:36 pm
In a recent study published by The Lancet Planetary Health, researchers examined the health costs of pollutants released by plastics across their full lifecycle and emphasized the need for international policy that reduces plastic production.
Babies are exposed to more forever chemicals in utero than previously thought
by EHN Curators on March 6, 2026 at 12:10 pm
New research into umbilical cord blood shows a startling number of PFAS.
Study links cell tower and cell phone radiation to changes in blood cells tied to immune health
by Environmental Health Sciences Staff on February 27, 2026 at 2:24 pm
A recent study published in Electromagnetic Biology and Medicine found people living close to cell towers and wireless base station network antennas had higher radiofrequency (RF) radiation exposures, along with measurable changes in certain white blood cells, suggesting a biological stress response and altered immune activity.

EHN EHN

After years of gains, GOP pushes to roll back chemical regulations
by EHN Curators on March 6, 2026 at 12:15 pm
In Texas, environmental activists and experts raise the alarm about the impact on the state's petrochemical industry.
Senate GOP backs speedier chemical reviews; Dems cite health risks
by EHN Curators on March 5, 2026 at 12:20 pm
Proposed changes to the nation’s premier chemical safety law are necessary for American competitiveness, Senate Republicans said in a hearing on Wednesday, as Democrats warned the changes will harm public health.
Former EPA staff detail expanding pollution risks under Trump
by EHN Curators on March 4, 2026 at 6:00 pm
The Trump administration’s relentless rollback of public health and environmental protections has allowed widespread toxic exposures to flourish, warn experts who helped implement safeguards now under assault.