Plasticizers are a general term for a whole range of chemicals added to materials, typically plastic and rubber, to make them softer and more pliable. They're found in countless everyday items like plastic shower curtains, shrink-wrap, PVC raincoats or flexible tubing and wire insulation for homes. Plasticizers, sometimes called phthalates, are also found in cosmetics, like nail polishes, lotions and shampoos.
Exposure to a fungicide induced changes to gene expression in rats that persisted for at least 20 generations. It also increased the chance of offspring developing kidney disease, obesity or experiencing complications when giving birth, according to the longest-running study of 'epigenetic' changes in mammals.
Emma Dyer remembers the moment she clicked "buy now" on a set of weightloss jabs she found online. She had no medical consultation, no ID checks, and no questions about her history of anorexia and bulimia. "It was just so easy - too easy," she says. "They never asked for my medical history or what medication I was taking. It was like buying groceries."
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
You might have heard that folic acid is an important supplement for pregnant women, but the truth is that this vitamin is essential for everyone regardless of age or gender. Folate is also known as vitamin B9, and is called folic acid in its synthesized form -- where it's used in supplements and fortified drinks and foods. Folate is essential for producing new cells in the body, including blood cells and brains cells, and for helping these cells to stay healthy.
Well, would you look at that? Not only is water wet, the ocean vast, and the Beckham feud enduring, but the abortion pill mifepristone is safe-and the FDA studies between 2011 and 2023 that declared it so were based on nothing other than fact and real science. If only we knew how good we had it when we had it.
Then, in November 2025, our international shame. The Pan American Health Organization revoked Canada's measles elimination status, following more than a year of sustained transmission of the same strain. We'd eliminated the virus in 1998 and held onto the status for twenty-seven years owing to a safe and effective vaccine, but as vaccine hesitancy grew and vaccination rates dropped, susceptibility to this once-vanquished disease skyrocketed.
New analysis has identified 25 chemicals linked to cancer that the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA) still allows in American food production. The findings come from scientists at the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), a nonprofit environmental advocacy group, who determined that eight of the chemicals are classified as known human carcinogens and 17 are reasonably anticipated to be human carcinogens.