Lipstick and fake nails can increase risk of getting asthma in adulthood, study finds
Research has shown a potential link between those who use products such as lipstick, eyeshadow and mascara and an increase in late-onset cases of the chronic respiratory condition, which affects around 5.4 million people in the UK.
Women who used false nails, cuticle cream, blush and lipstick had a 47 per cent higher risk of being diagnosed with asthma, the study based on nearly 40,000 people found.
Just using blush and lipstick five times a week or more increased the risk by 18 per cent.
The researchers, from the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, said the association did not prove the products caused the uptick in risk but did suggest common chemicals in make-up could have an effect.
Some are thought to weaken the immune system, while others – such as polyfluoroalkyl substances (known as PFAs), parabens, phthalates and phenols may interfere with the body's hormones.
'Our findings reinforce the need for regulation of personal care products and their components,' the researchers said.
The study, published in the journal Environment International, used data gathered over 12 years, which was based on the use of 41 different beauty products.
At the end of the research period, 1,774 of the women – around 4 per cent – had been diagnosed with adult-onset asthma.
Symptoms of the condition include coughing, wheezing, tightness in the chest and shortness of breath.
Overall, using the products was associated with a 19 per cent increased risk of asthma. Frequent use corresponded to a 22 per cent increase risk.
Previous studies have found that exposure to chemicals contained in beauty products during early pregnancy correlates with an increased risk of the baby going on to develop asthma in childhood. But little research has been conducted on the potential risk to adults.
'Understanding the biological pathways through which EDCs (endocrine-disrupting chemicals) in PCPs (personal care products) may increase the risk of asthma is important for understanding disease development,' the researchers said.
'If our findings are confirmed in other large-scale multi-ethnic prospective studies, they support PCPs as a potentially targetable lifestyle factor to reduce the burden of adult-onset asthma among women.'
Dr Samantha Walker, director of research and innovation at Asthma + Lung UK, said: 'We know that women get worse asthma than men and are more likely to be admitted to hospital, but it's not clear why although we believe female hormones play a part.
'More research is needed into this area so we can understand how to keep women well.'
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The Guardian
14 minutes ago
- The Guardian
‘Bad deaths scar families for ever': what terminally ill people want you to know about assisted dying
When she was only 18, a few months into an undergraduate degree in classics at Warwick University, Maddie Cowey was diagnosed with a rare cancer called sarcoma. She had gone to the GP about a lump on her shoulder that had been growing for 18 months. Soon after, she learned that the cancer had spread and was incurable. As there are no approved treatments in this country for Cowey's type of cancer, it has been managed so far through a mix of clinical trials and compassionate-use (individual, rather than group trial) drugs. 'The cancer is not completely stable,' she says. 'The aim is to slow it down. If it shrinks, that's great.' Now, aged 27, she isn't experiencing any symptoms from the cancer itself. 'I'm in reasonably good health. Most of the issues I've had have been side-effects from the treatment. Cowey photographed with her parents Jane and Colin (above) and at home taking her medications (top left), some of which is stored in her fridge 'I've definitely had times where I feel like my young adult years have been taken away from me and I felt more bitter about it,' Cowey says. 'I've had to process a lot of different things, but I'm in quite a good space now, where I feel accepting of it.' She has just returned from a two-week trip to visit her sister in Vietnam and currently works four days a week for a disabled persons' charity. 'I know the biggest opponents to assisted dying are the disability rights activists,' Cowey says. 'As someone living with a life-limiting health condition who will have to rely on the state at some point, I completely get the perspective of a disabled person. But the assisted dying bill is specifically for dying people. 'Cancer can be so uncertain, especially when it spreads to your organs, and you don't know which one it's going to decide to destroy and how painful it's going to be,' she says. 'Knowing there might be an alternative brings a lot of relief and hope. We deserve the right at the end of life to say how it's going to go.' Miranda Ashitey, photographed by South Norwood Lake, south London Miranda Ashitey died of metastatic breast cancer on 26 June, less than three weeks after her 43rd birthday. A former administrator and VW camper van driver, she is seen here in South Norwood Lake in south London, close to where she lived. Ashitey was first diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in 2014. She went into remission for about three years before learning that the cancer had spread in February 2019. 'What I thought was a seasonal cold lasted a long time, so I eventually went to the doctor,' she later recalled. 'They said I had a chest infection, to take some antibiotics, it'll be fine. It wasn't fine.' Throughout her illness, Ashitey campaigned to raise awareness and improve treatment for those with secondary breast cancer, focusing in particular on the experiences of Black and LGBTQ+ people. Fundraising efforts for cancer charities included the Great North Run, which she completed five times, and a skydive in 2022. Ashitey's bag with a badge saying she is shielding (above left) and her walking stick with its pink ribbon (above right) On assisted dying, Ashitey said she could 'see both parts', especially why disabled people might 'feel under more pressure to make a decision that might not be in their interest'. Coming from a west African background also made discussing the possibility of an assisted death with some members of her family 'a bit difficult'. 'But then people need to be able to have that choice if they want to end their lives,' she said. 'It's like I'm saying, 'I'm giving up' – but I'm not giving up: I'm facing reality. Being matter-of-fact rather than emotional is how I deal with things, and how this should be dealt with.' Sophie Blake, 52 (in pink), with her mother Christine (left), daughter Maya (second right) and sister Lucy (right) 'I have a family with a lot of cancer in it, and I've known people to suffer as they die since I was a teenager,' says Sophie Blake, 52, a former TV presenter and prominent campaigner for assisted dying. 'So I've always 100% believed in the right to choose. When I was diagnosed myself, it seemed natural to help campaign for it, whether it happens in my lifetime or not.' Blake, who lives in Brighton with her 18-year-old daughter Maya, received her initial primary breast cancer diagnosis in December 2020. Despite her family history, she was mistakenly told that she had a low risk of recurrence. But as soon as she finished treatment, she started feeling unwell. In May 2022, Blake learned the cancer had metastasised – to her lungs, liver, pelvic bone and abdominal lymph node. There was also new cancer on the skin where she'd had her lumpectomy. While the cancer is incurable, Blake has responded well to treatment and there is currently no evidence of active disease in her body – though the drug holding it at bay comes with challenging side-effects, including fatigue, cornea damage and bone and joint problems. But she's happy to put up with all of it to stay alive: to keep 'making memories with friends and family, travelling, adventures, being a mum'. Blake recognises the 'irony' of this focus on extending life alongside campaigning for 'the right to have a peaceful and dignified death'. But she required multiple surgeries after Maya's birth, and learned then that she is allergic to opioid painkillers. 'They couldn't manage my pain properly,' she recalls. 'It was awful.' The idea of going through a 'potentially excruciating death' with unrelieved pain terrifies Blake but, even more, she doesn't want her daughter to see her in that state. 'I don't want that to be her final memory of me,' she says. Last year, Maya, who is studying music performance at college in Brighton, joined her mother in campaigning for the assisted dying bill. 'If more people who were against it read up on it,' Maya says, 'they wouldn't be against it as much.' Blake with her daughter at home in Brighton (top) and some of the supplements she takes alongside her cancer medication (above) Mother and daughter were in the House of Commons, along with Blake's mother and sister, when MPs passed the bill in June. 'The relief was overwhelming,' Blake says. 'Campaigning and discussing my potential death so publicly over the last 18 months has been an intense process, and I was so worried it would have all been for nothing. When the result was read out, I burst out crying – which isn't like me at all.' Richard Tingey and his daughter Heidi photographed near his wife Barbara's woodland burial grave in Suffolk Barbara Tingey died of bowel cancer at the age of 76, in July 2023. She was diagnosed two years earlier, six months after her daughter Heidi's husband John had died of the same disease. A former deputy headteacher at a secondary school in Norfolk, Tingey had taught chemistry since the 1960s. After taking early retirement, she and her husband Richard went on holidays, mostly to France, and spent time with family: Heidi, their other daughter Katie, and their three grandchildren. 'She was so determined to stay alive and beat the odds,' Heidi says. Her mother had three rounds of chemotherapy – 'Then the treatment stopped working.' From early 2023, her condition deteriorated rapidly. Although her family didn't know it at the time, Tingey decided to stockpile pain medication. Richard and Barbara are pictured on their wedding day in 1976 'She didn't talk about the pain much, because she was trying to not draw attention to the fact she was stockpiling morphine,' Heidi says. But Richard recalls 'months of sheer agony', despite good palliative care. At the beginning of July, she attempted to overdose. She was transferred to a hospice and died just over a week later. 'I think Mum did what she did because she was suffering and she couldn't control when she was going to die,' Heidi says. The experience has convinced Richard to support the right to an assisted death 'with safeguards in place … I don't want my two daughters to suffer what we went through with Barbara,' he says. Lucy Davenport and her son Joss photographed on the seafront in Scarborough Lucy Davenport's husband Tom, a musician and music teacher in Scarborough, died of complications caused by bile duct cancer in August 2023 at the age of 48. He received his diagnosis just a year earlier – the first sign was the whites of his eyes turning yellow – and was given 11-12 months to live. Throughout Davenport's illness, the couple discussed whether Lucy should help him die 'if he got to the point where it was too much'. But they knew she couldn't risk being arrested and leaving their son Joss, now 10, alone. Lucy recalls that at one stage her husband asked a doctor 'for something to just make him go to sleep so he didn't wake up again. The doctor's response was, 'Not unless you grow another two legs and a tail' – a really blunt statement that I think sums the situation up,' says Lucy. 'That year that we had together we really did it well. We went to Disneyland. Tom and Joss saw Kiss and met them.' They organised a fundraising gig with performances by many of Davenport's students, friends and bandmates past and present. 'It was beautiful – like a living wake.' And in June 2023, the couple – who had met on a dating site 10 years earlier – had a surprise wedding (people thought they were going to Lucy's 40th birthday party). Lucy Davenport looks through her and Tom's wedding album (top left); Tom's ashes (top right); Lucy and Joss (above) During his second round of chemotherapy, Davenport became too ill to continue. In hospice, he was made as comfortable as possible. But the cancer had spread to his bowels, causing an obstruction that resulted in faecal vomiting for five hours. Eventually he choked and died. 'It was very, very traumatic. I have PTSD,' Lucy says. 'He would be horrified that we went through that.' Lucy and Joss now live with her friend Alice, whom she met many years ago through Davenport. She continues to feel his presence. 'He's definitely still around. I was listening to a playlist, really silly pop stuff. Then Working Man by Rush came on – one of Tom's favourite bands. So I just went, 'All right, I'll leave it on for you.'' Nathaniel Dye in Hainault forest preparing to run the 2025 London Marathon Nathaniel Dye , a 39-year-old music teacher living in Essex, started running about a decade ago with what he calls 'the zeal of a late convert'. With hindsight, the first sign that there was something wrong with his health was probably a 'small deterioration in training'. In October 2022, he was diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer. Soon it was discovered to have spread to his lymph nodes. The five-year survival odds were 10%. In the face of this prognosis, Dye set about cramming as much life in as possible. A year after his diagnosis, he completed a 100-mile run from Essex to London – possibly the farthest distance anyone has undertaken with a stoma. In April 2024, he did the London marathon while playing the trombone, and that summer embarked on a 60-day, 1,200km walk from John O'Groats in Scotland to Land's End in Cornwall. 'It just feels like the biggest gift that my body let me do that,' Dye says. In February, with mounting health issues, he was told he probably had one year to live. 'This may well be my last July. Try getting your head around that,' he says. He saw running the London marathon this past April as a 'last chance' and completed it in just under eight hours (although, as a former ultramarathon runner, he admits he 'found it difficult to accept any praise for the achievement'). Since diagnosis, Dye has also raised more than £40,000 (and counting) for Macmillan Cancer Support, receiving an MBE at the end of last year for his efforts. Less than a month after the marathon, Dye was taken to hospital with a near-fatal pulmonary embolism. He is less and less mobile, which, 'as someone formerly so active, is very hard to deal with', and has decided to take early retirement this summer, after being signed off work sick for most of the past two years. He hopes soon to be able to go on a long-discussed canal holiday with a small group of friends. 'It's just a case of constantly reassessing expectations based on what my body can do and getting the most out of every day, week, month, whatever timescale it is.' It's important for Dye to emphasise how much he wants to keep living while also supporting assisted dying. 'The notion of 'assisted suicide' really, really gets to me, because if there's anything I'm not, it's suicidal,' he says. He has in the past struggled with suicidal ideation but since getting his diagnosis 'it's been the total opposite … That intent to keep going is not, for me, mutually exclusive with the concept of assisted dying at the point where there isn't any light at the end of the tunnel.' Dye and his brother Jon running this year's London Marathon (top) and receiving his MBE at Windsor Castle in March In written evidence submitted to parliament, Dye described the passage of the assisted dying bill as his 'dying wish'. Now, he says, he 'won't quite believe it's real until it becomes law. I don't speak for all dying people, but I know a change in the law would bring me the greatest comfort as I try to settle into my last weeks and months.' Josh Cook photographed at home in Huddersfield 'I grew up knowing I was at risk of Huntington's and that my mum had it,' says Josh Cook, a 34-year-old rugby coach from Huddersfield. Children have a 50/50 chance of inheriting the gene that causes the fatal neurodegenerative disorder. The disease – which shares symptoms with Parkinson's, dementia and ALS – goes back generations in Cook's family. At 18, he learned he had the gene, too. 'We've just been unlucky at every coin toss, but I'm not going to have children, so it will stop there,' he says. Cook's mum, Lisa, took her own life last year at the age of 57. Her symptoms had begun several years earlier: slurring of speech, involuntary muscle movements, loss of balance. The prognosis was unpredictable; patients usually live for 10-30 years after symptom onset. 'I knew she would never go through with the illness,' Cook says. 'My mum watched my great-grandma go through every stage of it at home. One thing that sticks with me was that Mum saw her wear a hole through the carpet in front of her chair from twitching her legs. My mum didn't want that for herself.' Cook with his mum at a wedding in 1993 (above, top right) and after she gained her degree from the University of London (above, right bottom). His mum had long been a campaigner for assisted dying – she is seen (above left, back right) delivering a petition to No 10 with others in 2002 Cook, who so far hasn't had any symptoms, believes he would make the same decision as his mother. That's why a change in the law is so important to him: 'So that people can stop the generational trauma.' He wouldn't qualify for assisted dying under the law currently being proposed, as in the final stages of Huntington's mental competency is affected. But he is hopeful that the law would give people with this disease a basis to go to court and express their wishes in advance. 'We are still afraid of death in this country,' he says. 'For a very small group of us, this is something we think about because we have to. The end of my life is going to matter to me as much as the rest of it.' Mick Murray and Carol Taylor photographed in the Peak District close to the wall where their friend Bob Cole first noticed he was out of breath walking uphill – which was unusual as he was a mountaineer A married couple living in Derbyshire, Mick Murray and Carol Taylor have spent the past decade campaigning for assisted dying in memory of their longtime friends, husband and wife Bob Cole and Ann Hall. In 2013 Hall, a social worker and activist, was diagnosed with a rare terminal neurological condition called progressive supranuclear palsy. Quickly deteriorating, she decided to travel to Dignitas while she was still able in February 2014 – she was 68. Just over a year later Cole, a former town councillor, learned he had mesothelioma, an aggressive form of lung cancer likely caused by him working with asbestos as an apprentice carpenter in his teens. In August 2015, he, too, made the journey to Dignitas, aged 68. 'They actually had a choice over the way that they died, and they wanted to die in a way that was dignified,' says Taylor. Murray adds: 'The opponents call it assisted suicide. But the root of suicide is loneliness, despair and depression. This is due to illness. It was almost life-affirming, being there for the actual event. It was really sad, but it certainly wasn't suicide.' The Sun's coverage of Cole's death at Dignitas in 2015, which he had invited the newspaper to report on. He was 68 But Murray and Taylor are adamant people shouldn't have to go to Dignitas. 'Bob and Ann didn't have any children. They didn't have any parents alive. When you've got family, making that decision, to go and die before you need to, is more difficult,' says Taylor. And beside the often-prohibitive cost, there are bureaucratic challenges, because medical services don't always cooperate in providing the necessary records. 'No ill person could navigate this system, so other people have to navigate it for them. And in so doing, you become complicit,' says Murray. On the prospect of the law changing in the not-too-distant future, Taylor says: 'It's got to be time, hasn't it?' Pauline McLeod, photographed at her home near York 'He was very anxious about what was going to happen to him,' says Pauline McLeod, whose husband, Ian, died of motor neurone disease at the age of 76 in 2023. Life expectancy for someone with MND sufferer is typically one to five years – McLeod had been diagnosed two years earlier. Over the course of the disease, McLeod lost his mobility and his speech and experienced difficulties with swallowing and breathing. 'Not having control was terrifying for him,' Pauline says. Pauline is pictured here in the home she and Ian, a management consultant, shared in North Yorkshire. But they spent a lot of time travelling as well – to Singapore, Indonesia, Australia. 'He had a very, very full life: travelled a lot, liked fast cars and was pretty fearless, really,' Pauline recalls. 'And then the diagnosis was just so devastating – he couldn't cope with the restrictions that brought for him. He knew that all he had to look forward to was a steady decline.' McLeod would wake up at night with panic attacks that required sedation. An especially difficult milestone was selling their collection of classic cars. 'I caught him in the garage crying. They were his passion; he lost everything he cared about,' says Pauline. Photographs taken by McLeod (top) and a small replica Ferrari given to him (above) – he was obsessed with collecting cars but sold them before he died In June 2022, McLeod attempted to take his own life. Eventually, after he stopped eating and drinking, he was admitted to a hospice where he could die peacefully. 'We were very lucky that they took him, because it's not the same everywhere,' Pauline says. The prospect of legalised assisted dying would, she thinks, be a form of 'closure … nobody else has to go through what Ian and I had to go through'. Anil Douglas, photographed in Golders Hill park, Golders Green, London, where he used to visit with his father Anil is the son of Ian Douglas, who took his own life in February 2019, the day before his 60th birthday. Douglas was suffering from secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, having been diagnosed with the neurodegenerative disease in the 1980s. While MS is incurable, it is not usually considered a terminal illness. However, Douglas's GP had confirmed that his condition was terminal due to the progressive weakening of his immune system. Largely paralysed and in increasing pain, he decided to end his own life while he was still physically able. In a letter to be read at his funeral, he wrote, 'This was not a cry for help, and I end my life not distraught or depressed, but as happy as I can be in the circumstances.' However, the circumstances of his death were 'deeply traumatic', says Anil, who found his father as he was dying. 'Nothing can prepare you for that experience of grief in real time, like watching a car crash unfold before your eyes.' It later became apparent that Douglas had already made two attempts on his life in the previous weeks. 'His death was a really lonely, dangerous one. He obviously couldn't tell any of us about his decision.' Anil as a baby with his dad Ian (top); with his sister Anjili, 34 (ahove), on Hampstead Heath near Kenwood House, where they used to take their dad in his wheelchair The trauma was compounded by a police investigation, which saw five police cars show up at the family home. Anil and his sister's phones and their father's electronic devices were confiscated, and the siblings later had to give formal interviews. The investigation 'hung over our heads for months'. Afterwards Anil, who also went through the death of his mother Reena from cancer in 2008, began to campaign for changes to the law. 'Bad deaths scar you for ever,' he says. 'Whereas the law currently being proposed would lead to so many more good deaths, where people have the chance to come to terms with the reality of their death.' Steve Gibson, photographed at Westway Coaches in south London, where he used to work Steve Gibson, a 67-year-old former coach driver from south London, was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in January 2023. Timelines vary for the terminal illness, also known as ALS, but there is no cure or treatment. Gibson, who lives with his daughter Emma and two of his grandchildren, seems to be a slow progressor. But MND will take away his ability to walk, talk, eat and eventually breathe. He has noticed his already deep voice getting 'croakier' due to increased difficulty clearing his throat. As a sociable person, losing the ability to communicate is especially scary; he recently started using a voice-banking app suggested by the NHS. 'My big concern was: am I still going to sound like a south Londoner? And, secondly, can I swear? The answer to both was yes.' Life-extending options for MND include a feeding tube and a tracheostomy to assist breathing. 'Initially, I said, 'Yeah, I want everything', because you want to live for ever,' Gibson says. But he's since changed his mind. After 'a long discussion' with his neurologist, he signed a do not resuscitate order. He remembers taking care of his dad, who died from a different neurological disorder, in the last years of his life. 'My mum couldn't deal with it. Emotionally, it wrecks you. I don't want to be like that.' Gibson at Westway Coaches with Dave, his friend and former boss (top) and with his daughter Emma and granddaughter Nellie-Rose Gibson wishes he could afford to go to Dignitas, and hopes changes to the law will happen soon enough for him to benefit. He wants to be able to decide when to call it quits. 'I'm very happy with the life I've had. People ask if I've got any regrets. Well, yeah, maybe, but you can't do anything about it. So we move forward as we are. That's good enough for me.'
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
I was hired by NASA to protect Earth from aliens – here's what happens when they find us… & why it may spark disaster
AN EX-NASA chief has sensationally revealed plans for intelligent alien visitors. John Rummel was twice NASA's Planetary Protection Officer - from 1987 to 1993 and 1997 to 2006. 5 5 5 His objective was to prevent the contamination of other planets during exploratory missions, and also to ensure alien samples didn't contaminate Earth. But he also contemplated what he would do if intelligent aliens were to visit. And Rummel, now retired, has even outlined what could happen if there was a full-scale alien invasion. Rummel told The Sun: 'An alien visitor would provide mutual benefit. 'We could imagine standard microbial sampling, such as swabs and wipes for our part. 'Conceptually, it could be like the Danish film, The Visit, where we have somebody who is coming here but not invading, and they're interested in finding out more. 'I would insist we sample the visitor to make sure we have no microbial hitchhikers and also that we do not introduce anything to hurt the visitor. 'As for alien invasions, you could end up with the Martians being killed off by the first pathogenic bacteria, and the other way around. 'If we go to Mars, we become the Martians. We have to be careful that when we do get there we don't bring back unknowns that might otherwise be a problem. 'A lot of people go, oh well, we haven't found life on Mars so far, so it shouldn't be a problem. 'There are a lot of people with big enough egos to say 'trust me'. 'But that's not really a good idea. Ignorance is not bliss. Let's go ahead and take some data.' He added: 'We are just getting started in looking for signs of life. I will vote for aliens finding us first. 'We are otherwise in the 'selfie' stage of understanding what to look for, and where.' Rummel said there were no official NASA plans to prepare for an invasion, insisting his views are personal. But in that scenario, he says the agency would be unlikely to have any jurisdiction for a response. Rummel spoke after his successor, Catharine Conley, exclusively told The Sun she had been fired by NASA in 2013 for claiming its plan to return Mars samples to Earth was not safe, something Rummel agrees with. Conley said her job, like Rummel's, was to protect Earth from rogue alien life entering the atmosphere. But she believes that if there was an alien invasion, the response would be led by the US Air Force. 5 Mars facts Here's what you need to know about the red planet... Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun It is named after the Roman god of war The landmass of Mars is very similar to Earth, but due to the difference in gravity, you could jump three times higher there than you can here. Mars is mountainous and hosts the tallest mountain known in the Solar System called Olympus Mons, which is three times higher than Everest Mars is considered the second most habitable planet after Earth. It takes the planet 687 Earth days to orbit the Sun The planet has a diameter of 4,212 miles, and has an average distance from Earth of 140 million miles Martian temperatures can vary wildly, reaching as high as 70F/20C or as low as -225F/-153C She told The Sun: 'They would very much more likely be tiny little aliens. 'But if there were any intelligent ones, that would be the Air Force's problem, not NASA's, at least for the US. 'But again, we don't know what we're preparing for.' Rummel continued to work for NASA as a senior scientist at the Astrobiology Program after leaving his PPO role before retiring. He added: 'If somebody were to come in and land on the Earth, it's unlikely that they're going to cause a problem in my opinion. 'But I wouldn't trust my opinion on this because I don't have data. 'I believe that there's life out there but it wouldn't consider itself alien. Because they're out there and we're the aliens if we go out there. 'They're not the aliens themselves. I hope intelligent alien life is out there, and I certainly think it could be. We have a chance of seeing them in our lifetime. 'It changes all the time, but the search for extra terrestrial intelligence or technology has the potential to reveal if there's something else going on in the galaxy that's not us. 'At one point in time, I was the SETI program person at NASA headquarters. "And some very smart people are dedicated to seeing what's out there.' 5 NASA says on its website it hopes to send humans to Mars as early as the 2030s to explore signs of alien life. It was planning to return Mars samples before then as part of its Mars Sample Return (MSR) campaign. But that has been scrapped by Donald Trump's cuts, and NASA instead says it anticipates returning samples through lower-cost options. China remains on course with its own plans to return Mars samples through its Tianwen-3 Mars mission, set for launch in 2028 and bringing samples back by 2031. Rummel says he agrees with Catharine that NASA's current plans to bring samples back to Earth are not safe. But he says he'll be keeping an eager eye on the Chinese. He said: 'Mars sample return by robotic space vehicles is not currently funded by the US, so Catharine is right. 'It will be interesting to see the details of whatever the Chinese do.' He added: 'The bottom line is that we're looking for life on Mars and if we think there's a credible possibility of finding life on Mars, then it would be nice to know something about whether or not that life form was benign or whether or not it somehow might affect us.' 'You don't want it to go badly.' The Sun has approached NASA for a response to Rummel's comments. On questions surrounding the safety of samples returned to Mars, NASA previously said: "It is anticipated that future missions to Mars will return samples for study on Earth. "NASA will never compromise on safety." How long does it take to get to Mars? It's not that short of a trip... There's an immense distance between Earth and Mars, which means any trip to the red planet will take a very long time It's also made more complicated by the fact that the distance is constantly changing as the two planets rotate around the sun The closest that the Earth and Mars would ever be is a distance of 33.9million miles – that's 9,800 times the distance between London and New York That's really rare though: the more useful distance is the average, which is 140million miles Scientists on Earth have already launched a whole bunch of spacecraft to (or near) Mars, so we have a rough idea of how long it takes with current technology Historically, the trip has taken anywhere from 128 to 333 days – admittedly a huge length of time for humans to be on board a cramped spacecraft.
The Sun
44 minutes ago
- The Sun
Does the Pill harm fertility and do spicy foods actually induce labour? Expert busts 13 myths you probably believe
MOST of us know not to believe everything we read on the internet. But somehow, many old wives' tales manage to stick. 6 6 This is especially true when it comes to fertility and pregnancy. It's naturally an exciting but worrying time, and parents -to-be are often desperate to do everything 'right'. But should you really eat a spicy curry to induce labour? And will sleeping on your back while pregnant actually harm your baby? Here, Katherine Walker, service development manager and practitioner at the National Childbirth Trust, separates fact from fiction. 1. The pill harms your fertility - FALSE NO matter which one you use or how long you've been taking it, contraceptive pills do not harm fertility. It can take several months for your periods to return to normal, but there is no long-term impact. In fact, research by Wolkite University found 83 per cent of women get pregnant within 12 months of coming off the pill. Katherine tells Sun Health: 'The pill is an effective contraceptive if used correctly. It does not cause infertility.' 2. Pregnant women should avoid all fish - FALSE BRIE, salami, pâté and certain mushrooms - the list of foods to avoid while pregnant can seem endless. But there are still plenty of options, including fish. Dancing on Ice star shocked as she discovers bizarre reason for her 'unexplained infertility' Many women assume they need to cut all seafood from their diet once they realise they're expecting, however that's not true. 'It is actually recommended that pregnant women eat two portions of fish a week, including oily fish such as salmon, sardines or mackerel,' Katherine says. Cooked shellfish, such as mussels, lobster, crab, prawns, scallops and clams are also fine. However, certain fish should be avoided. 'This includes shark, swordfish and marlin due to concentrations of mercury,' Katherine says. 'Cold-smoked or cured fish such as smoked salmon or gravlax, including sushi, should also be avoided unless it has been cooked until steaming hot because of the risk of bacteria or parasites.' 3. Sleeping on your back can harm your baby - TRUE WE all have our preferred sleeping positions. But where possible, mums-to-be should avoid sleeping on their backs. Katherine says: 'From 28 weeks onwards, the safer position to go to sleep in is on your side. 'Sleeping on your back after this time slightly elevates the chance of a stillbirth.' Scientists at Auckland University found the weight of the uterus when back-sleeping could restrict blood flow to the baby and 'add extra stress'. While unlikely, it is possible to become pregnant if you have sex during your period Katherine WalkerNational Childbirth Trust Separate research by the University of Huddersfield estimated that going to sleep lying on your back from 28 weeks increased the risk of stillbirth by 2.6 times. And a study published in the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology warned expectant mums who lie on their back rather than their side during their third trimester were three times more likely to have a baby with a low birth weight. 'Pillows can help support you to get comfortable side sleeping,' Katherine says. 'If you have a night waking and find yourself on your back, just return to a side-lying position.' 6 4. Stress causes infertility - FALSE 'STRESS causes an increase in hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, which may in turn affect the hormones related to fertility,' Katherine says. 'However, plenty of people still become pregnant during stressful times, and it is unlikely to be stress alone causing fertility problems.' Feeling stressed can also impact your sex drive, perhaps reducing your chances of conception. But again, stress isn't directly impacting your physiology - rather your behaviour. 5. You can't dye your hair during pregnancy - FALSE DESPITE most research showing it is safe to do so, content regularly appears online warning women not to dye their hair during pregnancy. 'Although the chemicals in permanent and semi-permanent hair dyes may cause harm, this is only in very high doses,' the NHS says. 'When you use hair dye, you are only exposed to very low amounts.' Katherine adds: 'It is possible that these could be absorbed via the skin on your hands or head, or breathed in, but this would be at a very low level. 'Risks can be minimised by using gloves or only having highlights as these don't touch the scalp, as well as being in a well-ventilated room.' 6 6. You can get pregnant on your period - TRUE MOST women have periods around every 28 days. 'The most fertile time of the menstrual cycle is during ovulation, which usually occurs around 14 days after the start of the last period,' Katherine says. This is when an egg is released from the ovaries. And it can be fertilised when it meets a man's sperm. Theoretically, there is only a short window when you can fall pregnant, and it's around this time. However, it's difficult to pinpoint exactly when this happens, and it varies between people. Fertility facts you probably didn't know Around one in seven couples may have difficulty conceiving About 30 per cent of fertility problems are due to a man, 30 per cent due to a woman, and 30 to 40 per cent to both or unknown causes More than eight out of 10 couples, where the woman is under 40, will conceive naturally within a year if they have regular unprotected sex (every two or three days) For couples who have been trying to conceive for more than three years without success, the likelihood of getting pregnant naturally within the next year is one in four, or less A woman's caffeine intake can impact how long it takes to get pregnant A man's weight can affect a couple's ability to have a baby A 30-year-old woman with a normal reproductive system has about a 20 per cent chance of conceiving in any given month. This drops to five per cent over the age of 40 A woman is born with all the eggs she will ever have Freezing eggs before the age of 30 will probably provide the highest number of healthy eggs Around 52,500 patients had IVF and 3,000 had donor insemination (DI) treatment at licensed centres in the UK in 2022 The average age of first-time IVF patients is just over 35 One cycle of IVF can take three to six weeks Between 1991 and 2021, there were more than 390,000 births as a result of fertility treatment More than 70,000 donor-conceived children were born between 1991 and 2020 Source: NHS, British Fertility Society, Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority Sperm can also survive in the fallopian tubes for up to seven days after sex. 'Menstrual cycles vary in length, so some people ovulate earlier in their cycle, and some women experience a period which lasts for several days,' Katherine says. 'Sperm can live in the woman or birthing person's body after ejaculation for several days after sex, so conception is possible over a window of around a week and doesn't necessarily happen on the day of sex but can happen a few days later. 'While unlikely, it is possible to become pregnant if you have sex during your period.' 7. Pregnant women should always eat for two people - FALSE YOU often hear expectant mums talking about 'eating for two'. While the body is working hard and many women will feel hungrier than normal, you don't need to double all your portions or force yourself to eat. 'Pregnant women do not need to eat for two people, but having a healthy, balanced diet with a wide variety of food is important,' Katherine says. 'Those in early pregnancy should also consider taking a vitamin D and folic acid supplement to help reduce the risk of the baby having a neural tube defect, such as spina bifida. 'To support the baby's growth during the final three months of pregnancy, most people may need an extra 200 calories a day.' 6 8. Eating spicy foods induces labour - FALSE JENNIFER Aniston tries it while playing a significantly overdue Rachel Green in Friends. 'But no, spicy food does not induce labour,' Katherine says. 'It used to be a bit of an urban myth that perhaps this would stimulate the cervix, but there is no evidence that this is the case. 'It can also cause diarrhoea which irritates the intestines.' 9. You can't have sex for a long time after you give birth - FALSE DESPITE popular belief, there is no required waiting period before you can have sex after childbirth. However, waiting until after your six-week postnatal checkup - and when you feel physically and emotionally ready - is a good starting point. 'It is up to the people involved when to have sex again after birth,' Katherine says. 'Most women will feel sore and need time to recover from the birth, however, there are other ways to remain intimate during this time. 'You can become pregnant again just three weeks after giving birth, so people might want to consider which contraception to use.' 10. Pregnancy will make you gain weight - TRUE IT is normal and expected to gain weight during pregnancy. 'Everyone is different, but most people will gain 22 to 28lbs (10 to 12.5kg) over the course of the pregnancy – mainly from 20 weeks onwards,' Katherine says. 'As well as the baby, this is extra fat to help breastmilk production, a larger uterus, the placenta, and the increased blood volume needed to keep everything healthy.' Putting on too much or too little weight can lead to health problems for you or your unborn baby. If you're concerned about your weight or any other aspect of your health while pregnant, ask your midwife or GP for advice. 11. You will have pregnancy complications if you have a baby over 35 - FALSE ALTHOUGH no longer officially used by the NHS, many people still refer to any pregnancy over the age of 35 as 'geriatric'. It is therefore easy to assume that fertility falls off a cliff past this point, and if you do fall pregnant, you're likely to experience complications. But that's not necessarily true, Katherine says. While they can produce sperm throughout their lives, once men are 40 or older, the quantity and quality of sperm tends to decrease Katherine WalkerNational Childbirth Trust 'Some complications may be more likely over the age of 35 but this doesn't mean they will definitely occur,' she adds. Conditions associated with a higher maternal age include chronic hypertension (high blood pressure that exists within the first 20 weeks), gestational diabetes (high blood sugar that develops during pregnancy) and placenta praevia (where the placenta blocks the cervix). But these are not a given. 'Every pregnancy is unique, and your midwife or healthcare provider will be able to talk to you about your circumstances,' Katherine says. 12. Age only affects women's fertility - FALSE WOMEN often talk about their 'female biological clock' - the decline in fertility as they age. And it's true that women have a finite number of eggs which slowly diminishes over time. But getting older also affects men's fertility. 'While they can produce sperm throughout their lives, once men are 40 or older, the quantity and quality of sperm tends to decrease,' Katherine says. A study by the University of Bristol found that conception is 30 per cent less likely for men older than 40 than it is for men under 30. Scientists blame declining testosterone levels, decreased blood supply to the pelvic area, shrinking or softening testicles, enlarged prostates and narrowing of the tubes that move sperm from inside the testicles. 13. If you have a miscarriage you will struggle to get pregnant again - FALSE ONE in eight known pregnancies will end in miscarriage (loss during the first 23 weeks), NHS figures show. This can have a profound emotional impact on you, your partner, and your friends and family. It's natural to want to know why a miscarriage happened, but many are thought to be one-off problems with the development of the foetus. And it's reassuring to know that most people who experience a miscarriage go on to have successful pregnancies. Katherine says: 'For most people this is a one-off event, and they will go on to have a healthy pregnancy if they decide to try again.' Losing three or more pregnancies in a row (recurrent miscarriages) is uncommon and only affects around one in 100 women. 'Anyone who has experienced three or more miscarriages should be offered tests to try to find out why this has happened,' Katherine adds.
