In a world where convenience is king, popularity around smartwatches is not surprising at all.

(Reuters) -C&S Wholesale Grocers, with the backing of SoftBank Group, is nearing a deal to acquire stores that Kroger and

The UK’s first womb transplant means that, in future, dozens of women born without a functioning organ can carry babies of their own. – What has happened? Surgeons have performed the UK’s first womb transplant on a 34-year-old woman whose older sister donated the organ to her. In a complex procedure, the medical team removed the womb from the 40-year-old woman and implanted it directly into her sister. Both women have made a good recovery. – Have any babies been born? Not yet. Experts want to be sure the transplant is stable and the womb is functioning fully before the younger woman undergoes IVF. She has stored eight embryos and will have fertility treatment later this year in central London. The woman hopes to have more than one baby. Once she has completed her family, the womb will be removed to prevent her needing immunosuppressant drugs for the rest of her life. – Has the NHS paid for the operation? No. Each womb transplant costs around £25,000 and is fully funded by the charity Womb Transplant UK. This includes payment to the NHS for theatre time and the patient’s stay on a ward. The operations are only carried out at times when the NHS is not using the operating theatre, so they do not impact on usual NHS waiting lists. Surgeons and medical staff involved in the transplant have not been paid for the operation and have given their time freely. – Have other womb transplants been carried out around the world? More than 90 womb transplants have been carried out internationally, with most operations involving a living donor. The first successful womb transplant took place in Sweden in 2014, with the baby – Vincent – born to a 36-year-old woman who described him as “perfect”. In 2000, a transplant was performed on a 26-year-old woman in Saudi Arabia but the donor womb survived for only 99 days due to problems with its blood supply. To date, womb transplants have been carried out in more than 10 countries, including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Sweden, the US, China, Czech Republic, Brazil, Germany, Serbia and India. – How successful is the operation? Data from the US shows that more than half of women who received a womb through a transplant in the US went on to have successful pregnancies. Between 2016 and 2021, 33 women received womb transplants in the US and, as of last summer, 19 of them (58%) had delivered a total of 21 babies. In 74% of those receiving a womb, the organ was still functioning one year after transplant and 83% of this group had live-born children. – Will there be more transplants in the UK? Yes. The second British womb transplant is scheduled to take place this autumn and experts believe a maximum of 20 to 30 per year could be carried out in the UK in the future. Transplants could help women born without a functioning womb and those who lose their organ to cancer or other conditions. Estimates suggest there are 15,000 women in the UK of childbearing age who do not have a functioning womb. – Will there be a shortage of donor wombs? Womb Transplant UK is running two programmes, one involving living donors and another with organs from people who have died. The living donor programme in the UK has so far focused on women with relatives who are willing to give their wombs. However, the team believes that in the future, the living donor programme will expand to include friends or altruistic living donors. This is currently more common in the US. The use of deceased donors is assessed by the team on a case-by-case basis. Read More Charity boss speaks out over ‘traumatic’ encounter with royal aide Ukraine war’s heaviest fight rages in east - follow live Why are wellbeing experts concerned about the ‘lazy girl job’ trend? How to check for cancer, as Morrisons puts NHS cancer advice in underwear labels Prostate screening ‘could save lives’ – the symptoms and risk factors you need to know

REHOVOT, Israel Scientists in Israel have created a model of a human embryo from stem cells in the

Toxic flame retardants have been found in human breast milk, research has revealed. A new peer-reviewed study published in the Environmental Pollution journal has identified 25 types of toxic flame retardants in human breast milk in the US, posing a “disturbing” threat to breastfeeding infants. After analysing breast milk samples of 50 mothers from the Seattle area, researchers at Toxic Free Future, Emory University, the University of Washington, and Seattle Children’s Research Institute found brominated flame retardants (BFRs) – a class of man-made compounds commonly used in products like upholstered furniture, televisions, and insulation. Researchers have warned that these chemicals, as well as the presence of flame retardants in human breast milk, can have an “adverse effect on human health” and “early-life exposures are of greatest concern”. One type of flame retardant found in the breast milk samples were polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), despite these compounds being phased out by manufacturers nearly 10 years ago. Efforts to ban PBDEs came around in 2003 after the toxic chemicals were found in the breast milk of 20 mothers in the US. Chemical producers quickly stopped the sale of PBDEs for use in upholstered furniture, and they were eventually banned by the US Environmental Protection Agency. Companies then turned to another, largely unregulated BFR called bromophenols, which are used in electronics and have been shown to affect hormone levels in infants. While the research found that levels of banned PBDEs had declined in breast milk samples – 70 per cent lower than they were 20 years ago – bromophenols were present in 88 per cent of the breast milk samples tested, ultimately replacing one banned chemical with another, unsafe chemical in the same class. “Our results show that when we prohibit the use of persistent toxic chemicals like PBDEs, we make breast milk safer for babies,” said Erika Schreder, study co-author and science director at Toxic Free Future, a group that has advocated for new regulation of industry and consumer products. “But it’s disturbing to find that the replacement chemicals are now building up in breast milk.” Brominated flame retardants are often put into casings for TVs and other electronics. Studies have shown that these chemicals can escape out of products into indoor dust and air, outdoor air, surface water and of course, breast milk. BFRs have also been linked to negative health impacts such as learning problems, hormone disruption, and reduced fertility. “It’s concerning to find flame retardants in breast milk that can disrupt hormones and affect children’s brain development,” said Dr Amina Salamova, study co-author and assistant professor at Emory University’s Rollins School of Public Health, adding that bromophenols have already been found to “affect key thyroid hormones during fetal development”. Local, state, and federal policy makers have since taken steps towards regulating harmful flame retardants. In December 2021, New York governor Kathy Hochul signed into law a bill that restricted the use of flame retardants in furniture, mattresses, and electronic displays. The law also prohibited the use of organohalogen flame retardants (OFRs) in electronic enclosures, such as televisions. The European Food and Safety Authority has also banned or restricted the use of certain BFRs and BFR-treated products throughout the EU to protect health and the environment. “I hope we can learn our lesson this time and put policies in place that address the entire class and make sure chemicals used in products are known to be safe,” said Schreder. Read More Baby formula crisis: As the cost of living bites, meet the parents struggling to feed their infants Keke Palmer claims she faced ‘breast milk discrimination’ at airport: ‘Why is that not a crime?’ Couple doing IVF lets their dog decide baby’s sex Women in certain professions ‘may be at higher risk of ovarian cancer’ – study Mother calls out ‘double standard’ after husband is praised for doing ‘bare minimum’ Couple praised after sharing intimate bathroom TikTok: ‘The reality of birth’

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The trailer for Season 2 of SPY x FAMILY is here, and it's clear the

When OpenTable CEO Debby Soo joined the restaurant reservation company in 2020, the industry was struggling through the pandemic

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