News by Subject Social & Behavior

When access to free and low-cost birth control goes up, the percentage of young women who leave high school before graduating goes down by double-digits, according to new University of Colorado research.

The majority of top-rated fertility apps collect and even share intimate data without the users' knowledge or permission, a collaborative study by Newcastle University and Umea University has found. Researchers are now calling for a tightening of the categorisation of these apps by platforms to protect women from intimate and deeply personal information being exploited and sold.

Yale researchers have shown that developmental abnormalities, including those that lead to pregnancy loss and autism, are controlled by the genetics of the fetus and placenta -- and not the mother's intrauterine environment.

Mullerian inhibiting substance, a reproductive hormone, keeps follicles dormant in the ovaries until they are ready to be activated, grow, and release eggs during ovulation. Understanding the mechanism of follicle development by this hormone could allow scientists, for the first time, to identify novel therapeutic targets to preserve follicles and eggs lost to aging or chemotherapy, to improve the harvesting of eggs during IVF, and to create a new hormonal contraceptive.

Socially just policies aimed at limiting the Earth's human population hold tremendous potential for advancing equity while simultaneously helping to mitigate the effects of climate change, Oregon State University researchers say.

Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have developed a new method that makes it possible to control human hormones and metabolism. One of the study's perspectives suggests that the method could be used to develop more effective medicines to treat cancer and a range of metabolic disorders in the future.

A three-paper report published in The Lancet highlights that the current approach to miscarriage care must be improved, by providing more accurate diagnosis and appropriate investigations, improved treatments to prevent miscarriage, effective management methods that suit women's needs and preferences, and treatment from health-care professionals specifically trained in early pregnancy care. The authors also note that there is an urgent need to offer psychological support for affected women and their partners.