The researchers have examined blood samples from 702 pregnant Danish women who were registered in the database “Aarhus Children’s Biobank”. Such thorough studies of the concentration of perfluorinated substances and their biological effect in pregnant woman have not been done previously, but the study is nevertheless in line with previous research in the area. The substances have furthermore been associated with a range of issues including breast cancer, fertility problems, ADHD, the risk of asthma, a weakened immune system and the reduced effect of vaccines.
For the first time, researchers have shown that a combination of perfluorinated substances in the mother significantly inhibits child growth. These are the substances which Denmark’s minister for environment and food is currently working to ban.
On Monday, April 8th, we will be hosting our second research webinar, during which we will be discussing the microbiome and its role in aging and disease.
Our second research webinar
Our work is largely supported by the generosity of our monthly patrons, the Lifespan Heroes, so to thank them we have launched a new series of exclusive webinars where Heroes can join the researchers live, listen to discussion panels, and take part in Q&A sessions.
Don’t look now, but Earth is being bombarded with mysterious, invisible light. Among the typical array of radio signals and microwaves cast out by distant stars, black holes and other celestial bodies, there exists a brand of intergalactic light that consistently boggles scientists’ minds — and their instruments. These signals are known as fast radio bursts (FRBs). These ultrastrong, ultrabright radio signals last only a few milliseconds and are thought to originate from billions of light-years away, though their precise source is unknown. (Aliens have not been ruled out.)
The mystery is partially owed to a lack of data; since astronomers first discovered FRBs in 2007, only about 60 have been observed. Now, those numbers are growing fast. According to two new papers published Jan. 9 in the journal Nature, scientists working at the CHIME (Canadian Hydrogen Intensity Mapping Experiment) radio telescope in the hills of British Columbia have detected 13 new FRBs in just a two-month span. Among these newly captured signals are seven bursts that registered at 400 megahertz — the lowest FRB frequency detected so far — and, for only the second time ever, an FRB that flashed repeatedly, six times in a row.
“Until now, there was only one known repeating FRB,” Ingrid Stairs, a member of the CHIME team and an astrophysicist at the University of British Columbia, said in a statement. “With more repeaters and more sources available for study, we may be able to understand these cosmic puzzles — where they’re from and what causes them.”
Virgin Galactic sent three human beings on Unity for the first time in Friday’s supersonic test flight, which reached three times the speed of sound on its way up. Just before the flight, Richard Branson’s space tourism company told CNBC that astronaut trainer Beth Moses is on the company’s spacecraft Unity, along with the two pilots.
“Beth Moses is on board as a crew member,” a Virgin Galactic spokeswoman told CNBC. “She will be doing validation of some of the cabin design elements.”
