Free Republic

Infertility is a part of life for 1 in every 8 couples in the United States. Most people know that risk factors like age and tobacco use can make having a baby difficult, yet, there are young, tobacco-free families who struggle to get pregnant in every community. Because knowledge is critical in safeguarding your reproductive health, here are five causes of infertility you may never have heard of. 1. LEEP Procedures If you’ve ever had an abnormal Pap smear, you may have heard of LEEP (Loop Electrosurgical Excision Procedure). With this treatment, doctors use an electrically heated wire loop to...

The 5-year-old stepson of a British woman who lives as a man, with the child’s mother, is now “transitioning” to a girl, the couple has revealed. They also complain that they’ve suffered “insults” at the hands of people online and their neighbors, and they’ve also been reported to social services. What, exactly, these insults are was not specified in an article covering the couple on Heart. They’re adamant, however, that they’re not responsible for the child’s gender confusion and that the “transition” is what’s best:

Bethany Mandel recently wrote an article at Ricochet, “What Does It Mean to Be a Woman?“ in which she responded to a tweet by a transgender person, @LifeofBria, who claimed that, just like all other women, he gets “periods”: (snip) But here’s the thing: a period is the flow of menstrual blood approximately two weeks after ovulation. If you don’t ovulate, you don’t have a period. Strictly speaking, even women who are on the pill and don’t ovulate don’t have “periods” even if, due to the pattern of their pills, they bleed on a four-week cycle. Instead, they experience breakthrough...

“I’m a fighter pilot and I talk like one,” Rep. Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) declared a day after reports of President Donald Trump referring to certain countries as “sh*tholes” sparked controversy. In a YouTube video posted Friday advocating “national security, economic security, and border security,” McSally brags she told Republicans to “Grow a pair of ovaries”: “Like our president, I’m tired of PC politicians and their B.S. excuses. I’m a fighter pilot and I talk like one.” “I told Washington Republicans to grow a pair of ovaries and get the job done.” McSally served 26 years in uniform [1], retired a...

For the first time in its 250-year history, a woman will be joining the ranks of the Marine Corps as an infantry officer, the U.S. military said Thursday. The lieutenant, whose name was not revealed, is expected to graduate from the grueling, 13-week infantry officer course Monday, the training center said in a statement released to The Washington Post. ABC News confirmed the historic first. Three dozen women have attempted to complete the course, and all but one have failed. About 25 percent of all trainees do not complete the course. The Pentagon opened up all ground combat roles in...

One of Britain’s most famous transgender personalities is swapping genders for the third time in eight years. Brad Cooper became the U.K.’s youngest person to undergo a gender swap at only 15 years old, when he claimed he believed he was a girl stuck in a boy’s body. Doctors began pumping Brad’s body full of hormone therapy to stop puberty and trigger breast growth, sparking a widespread debate on whether 15 was too young for a person to make such a life-altering medical decision. Turns out that it just might be. According to a profile in the U.K. Mirror, the...

Bathroom signs are temporary, but hormones are forever.That seems to be the implication of a new paper . . . >>skip<<Children can't consent to this. How can parents agree to this on their behalf? . . . >>skip<<

Trinity’s transgender wrestler credits teammates for his state title CYPRESS Mack Beggs came here to wrestle. And wrestle he did, manhandling four opponents over two days as he captured a Class 6A girls state championship Saturday. The 110-pound gold medalist also captured something else: The attention of a nation increasingly polarized by transgender issues. Beggs, a 17-year-old transgender boy from Euless Trinity High School, didn’t come to the state tournament seeking to carry the transgender torch, or to become a lightning rod, or to be the target of a lawsuit that could end his high school wrestling career. But those...

Unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve seen the headlines jeering at men after the news broke that a trial for male birth control was cancelled because men “couldn’t handle” the side effects. The mocking was practically immediate. Men were derided as being whiners who were unwilling to tolerate the side effects that women endure every month, so not only were they weak, they were misogynists as well.People titled Julie Mazziotta’s article “Men Back Out of Male Birth Control Study Because They Couldn’t Handle the ‘Changes in Mood.’” She wrote that it was time for guys to “woman up.”...

Published on Sep 25, 2015Today after waiting 2 1/2 years she FINALLY got her estrogen. I picked it up while she was in school so she had no idea. We have been waiting months for the readiness letter to be finalized and sent to Chicago, so had no idea on a timeline of when it would actually happen. Sorry I had to stop recording because we were both blubbering sobbing fools LOL. September 24th is a day I will remember for the rest of my life!

The Pentagon announced Monday that it intends to pay for hormone treatment for transgender troops. The change was one of several proposed in a package of reforms. Written public comments about this proposed new rule can be made in the Federal Register until April 1. Tricare coverage for gender dysphoria treatments would be available to troops, their family members and retirees, including psychotherapy and hormone replacement therapy. "This rulemaking proposes to remove the categorical exclusion on treatment of gender dysphoria. This proposed change will permit coverage of all non-surgical medically necessary and appropriate care in the treatment of gender dysphoria,...

A team at Yale School of Medicine have identified a hormone, produced by the thymus glad, extends lifespan by 40 per cent. Their findings reveal increased levels of the hormone, known as FGF21, protects the immune system against the ravages of age. Researchers said the study could have implications in the future for improving immune function in the elderly, for obesity, and for diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes. When it is functioning normally, the thymus produces new T cells for the immune system. But with age, the gland becomes fatty and loses its ability to produce the...

A young mother's birth control pills helped cause her to have a stroke. Bethany Fonseca has a history of migraines, but one particular day, her headache was different. She took pain medication and was about to enter the shower when the room starting spinning and she fell on the floor. "I thought I was going to die," Bethany said. "My only thought ... was just, 'Let me see my kids again one more time.'" She tried getting up but kept falling on the floor. Eventually, an ambulance took her to Baptist South hospital. "They ran some tests, and they...

If you think that sugar is the unhealthiest thing you can eat, you're wrong. Apparently, the Worst Food on the Planet Award should actually go to soybean oil, suggests new findings published in the journal PLoS One. Setting up a sort of dietary cage match, researchers fed mice a series of diets each containing 40% fat. The fat in the first diet was primarily saturated and came from coconut oil, while the fat in the second diet was primarily unsaturated and came mostly from soybean oil. The researchers also fed mice two altered versions of the high-fat diets that also...

If the thought of running on a treadmill makes you shudder, then you may soon have an excuse to avoid it altogether. US researchers claim they have found a hormone that mimics the effects of exercise, allowing people to lose weight and regulate their blood sugar. The hormone, dubbed MOTS-c, has been proven to work in mice and clinical trials on humans could begin in three years. The discovery of MOTS-c - a molecule that acts as a signal for the body - was made by scientists at the University of Southern California. MOTS-c works by increasing insulin sensitivity, allowing...

Newly discovered hormone mimics the effects of exercise Enlarge Credit: Martha Sexton/public domain Scientists at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology have discovered a new hormone that fights the weight gain caused by a high-fat Western diet and normalizes the metabolism - effects commonly associated with exercising. Hormones are molecules that act as the body's signals, triggering various physiological responses. The newly discovered hormone, dubbed "MOTS-c," primarily targets muscle tissue, where it restores insulin sensitivity, counteracting diet-induced and age-dependent insulin resistance."This represents a major advance in the identification of new treatments for age-related diseases such as diabetes," said Pinchas...

Take another look at that food label. An ingredient or two may have vanished. As Americans pay closer attention to what they eat, food and beverage companies are learning that unfamiliar ingredients can invite criticism from online petitions and bloggers. The risk of damaging publicity has proven serious enough that some manufacturers have reformulated top-selling products to remove mysterious, unpronounceable components that could draw suspicion. …

Assemblywoman Susan Bonilla, D-Calif., believes that if her Assembly Bill 926 passes, researchers will be able to pay egg donors as they develop medical advances that can help all women. To her, the bill is an issue of simple fairness -- gender equity, really. Since a well-intended 2006 bill banned researchers from paying egg donors more than expense reimbursement, researchers have been at a competitive disadvantage, while affluent couples can offer fertile women top dollar. UCSF Professor Marcelle Cedars lamented at a hearing of the state Senate Health Committee on Wednesday that the status quo robs potential egg donors of...

A major research breakthrough was achieved in the field of diabetes by scientists at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) who discovered a hormone that could soon enable a dramatically more effective treatment of type 2 diabetes. A hormone called betatrophin was surprisingly found to cause mice producing insulin-secreting pancreatic beta cells at up to 30 times the normal rate. The new beta cells only produce insulin when called for by the body, offering the potential for the natural regulation of insulin and a great reduction in the complications associated with diabetes. The astonishing results of HSCI co-director Doug Melton...

Like the sun, insulin levels rise and fall in a daily rhythm. Disrupting that cycle may contribute to obesity and diabetes, a new study suggests. Many body systems follow a daily clock known as a circadian rhythm. Body temperature, blood pressure and the release of many hormones are on circadian timers. But until now, no one had shown that insulin — a hormone that helps control how the body uses sugars for energy — also has a daily cycle. Working with mice, researchers at Vanderbilt University in Nashville have found that rodents are more sensitive to insulin’s effects at certain...