Age at first menstruation influenced by dietary quality
On average, girls experience their first menstruation between the ages of 12 and 13 – a figure that has steadily declined over the past two centuries. A study published on May 6 in the journal Human Reproduction found that the eating habits of pre-adolescent girls could influence this biological milestone, independent of body mass index (BMI) or height, which are already known to affect the age at first menstruation.
"We observed [...] that a healthier diet was linked to menstrual periods starting at an older age," said Holly Harris, associate professor at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle who coordinated the study. "As earlier age at menarche is associated with multiple later life outcomes, including higher risk of diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease and breast cancer, this may be an important period for trying to reduce the risk of these chronic diseases."
To conduct this research, scientists examined the eating habits of approximately 7,000 American girls aged 9 to 14 who had not yet gone through puberty when they were recruited for the prospective Growing Up Today Study (GUTS) cohort. On average, they had their first period at age 13.1, consistent with data from the general population. At enrollment and then at regular intervals during the follow-up, participants completed a questionnaire on how often they consumed 132 types of foods and drinks – ranging from never or less than once a month to once or several times a week.
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Euronews
5 hours ago
- Euronews
NATO adapts drones to transport blood to injured frontline soldiers
Russia could "decide to attack us in three to five years," NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says, and Europe needs to be prepared. In response, NATO countries are finalising plans to dramatically increase defence spending from 2% of GDP to 5%. Meanwhile, NATO allies are focusing on strengthening their defence through new capability targets, based on the evolving global security concerns and, in particular, the threat from Russia. NATO's Griffin Lightning military exercise is one of the most extensive tests of the alliance's capabilities and readiness for war. The training includes a wide range of hardware, including tanks, howitzers, attack helicopters, drones, live-fire drills and fully functional field hospitals. Field hospitals are crucial as the first line of defence, preventing death or major life-changing injuries. Overall, drones are the dominant weapon in Russia's war in Ukraine and are responsible for the majority of casualties and injuries. Armies are now preparing for the widespread integration of drone technology into life-saving situations on the battlefield. Drones will be used to transport blood directly to the injured soldier on the frontline, buying crucial time with blood transfusions until a soldier can receive more comprehensive care. In Lithuania and across the Baltic states, armies are using former Soviet missile depots as control centres for NATO allies and for storing medical supplies and field and dental hospitals. Medical staff react to drills and emergency life-saving treatments that are common to battlefield injuries. Field hospitals are there to stabilise patients, with IV access, intubations and CT scanners for head trauma and brain injuries. Hospital 519 is an American-led facility in the centre of Lithuania with hypothetical patients displaying injuries common to the battlefield, especially the current frontline in Ukraine. It's part of the US Swift Response military exercise within NATO, which tests the ability of US battalions and military medical personnel to respond immediately to a potential Russian invasion in the Baltic states or other frontline countries in Europe. "The injuries we're seeing in Ukraine are different to the war in Iraq or Afghanistan," dental officer Major Frederick Dawson told Euronews. In Ukraine, "soldiers are wearing body armour and helmets so a lot of the injuries are to the extremities and to the face which highlights the need for a dentist on the battlefield," he explained. "If a soldier has tooth injuries through trauma or disease, it might affect their ability to wear their helmet and then they can't fight." Crucially, the war in Ukraine is informing how NATO is preparing for battlefield injuries. "The US army medical leadership and dental corps leadership have been studying the trends in Ukraine very closely to try to see how we can modernise our army medical team to include the dental team to be better prepared for large scale combat operations," he said. Meanwhile, US NATO soldiers also say they now conceal the Red Cross medical symbol at military hospitals or medical centres. "We try not to have our vehicles or tents with the cross. We try to hide that from sight," Major Hong Duan, a pharmacist with the US military, told Euronews. "From what I've learned, yes, it's not respected," he said. Hospitals and other critical civilian infrastructure have protected status under international humanitarian law. However, according to several military experts, it is largely no longer respected in many current war zones. The European Commission plans to launch a vast operation to clean up PFAS (Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances), also known as "forever chemicals" in water through the creation of public-private partnerships. These were the conclusions of the European Water Resilience Strategy, adopted on Wednesday in Brussels. In 2022, out of 1,300 monitoring sites in Europe, 59% of rivers, 35% of lakes and 73% of coastal waters exceeded the environmental quality standard for perfluorooctanesulphonic acid (PFOS), a type of PFAS, according to the European Environment Agency (EEA). In Europe, only 37% of surface waters are in good or very good ecological health and 29% have achieved good chemical status, according to the agency. Environmental associations, which are campaigning for a ban on PFAS at the source, are denouncing this as a "missed opportunity". "We expected to see more ambition to reduce pollution at the source," said Angeliki Lyssimachou, head of science and policy at the Pesticide Action Network (PAN) Europe. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances are dubbed "forever chemicals" because they don't easily break down in the environment and accumulate in humans and animals over time. Health costs are estimated at €52 to €84 billion a year and some of the chemicals have been classified as carcinogenic. These chemical compounds are non-stick, waterproof and resistant to high temperatures. They are also present in many everyday items such as non-stick frying pans, fire-fighting foams and medical devices. Jessika Roswall, the European Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resilience said she was in favour of banning PFAS in consumer products such as cosmetics and food packaging. However, she stressed that it would be difficult to ban all PFASs, as some do not yet have an effective alternative. "The problem is that we need PFASs for many different products. For example, medical products like inhalers (...) or many things for which there is no substitution. In terms of the ecological transition, semiconductors, digitisation or the defence industry," Roswall told Euronews. In a leaked document, the Commission's estimated range for the annual cost of PFAS decontamination in Europe was wide, at anywhere from €5 all the way to €100 billion. For the water sector alone, the cost could increase to up to €18 billion annually for drinking water treatment. For some pollutants, such as TFA (trifluoroacetic acid, a type of PFAS), the clean-up is not so simple. "According to the water companies, it's a very expensive process that involves extracting all the minerals from the water and adding them back. At the end of the day, you're going to lose a lot of water," says Angeliki Lyssimachou. "So you're going to consume a lot more energy. The Commission wants to apply the "polluter pays" principle and reserve public funding for sites where it has not been possible to identify who is responsible. The European Water Resilience Strategy aims to restore the water cycle and ensure access to clean, affordable water at a time when Europe is facing extreme weather events such as floods and droughts. 34% of the EU is affected by water shortages. "Water is life. Water resilience is essential for our citizens, our farmers, the environment and businesses. The Commission's Water Resilience Strategy sets out the path towards a sustainable, resilient, smart and competitive water economy. We must act now to protect this resource," said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement. The European action plan also includes raising awareness for these issues through public debates, increasing European funding for infrastructure modernisation, supporting digitisation through the EU's Copernicus Earth observation programme, and supporting innovation.
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
As the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation names a new chief, suspicions swirl over who funds it
The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) on Tuesday announced the appointment of a new director after its previous leader quit, just days before the NGO began operating as the only provider of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip. American evangelical Christian leader Rev. Dr. Johnnie Moore was on Tuesday named the GHF's new chairperson after the resignation in late May of Jake Wood, who cited concerns that the operation did not adhere to 'humanitarian principles'. Moore has previously voiced support for US President Donald Trump 's idea that the US should take over the Palestinian enclave. 'The USA will take full responsibility for future of Gaza, giving everyone hope & a future,' he wrote on X, where he also criticised the UN food distribution program, which normally runs 408 centres in Gaza, for enabling Hamas to control supplies. Moore's appointment comes amid daily reports of deadly attacks on Palestinians by Israeli soldiers in and near GHF aid distribution centres since they opened last week. "Civilians are risking – and in several instances losing – their lives just trying to get food," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday. The GHF aid distribution model was "a recipe for disaster – which is exactly what is going on', he added. $100 million donation The UN and aid groups have refused to work with the GHF – backed by the US and Israel – because they say it is not a neutral operation. But little is known about how the newly formed NGO is run or who funds it. In October 2024, the GHF hired US consulting firm The Boston Consulting Group to design and run its business operations. The consultancy firm on Friday terminated its contract with GHF and placed one of the senior partners leading the project on leave pending an internal review, the Washington Post reported. Anonymous sources speaking to the Post said it would be difficult for the foundation to continue to function without the consultancy group 'actually making the wheels turn' on the ground. While the GHF has almost no digital footprint, a memo released in May to potential donors details key board members and the involvement of two US private security firms, UG Solutions and Safe Reach Solutions. The memo says the NGO has since February 2025 been registered in Switzerland, where investigators are now leading an enquiry into whether its operations are illegal. But a New York Times report, which claims the GHF is an Israeli brainchild conceived during the first few weeks of the war, found a group named the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was also registered in Delaware. The organisation does not reveal where its funding comes from, except for saying in a statement released in May that it had received a donation of over $100 million from an unnamed Western country. Shell companies In Israel, rumours swirled that the anonymous benefactor was actually the Israeli state, covertly using taxpayer money to fund the project. 'Is the State of Israel behind two shell companies established in Switzerland and the United States, GHF and SRS, to organise and finance humanitarian aid in Gaza?' Israeli opposition leader Yair Lapid asked in parliament on May 26. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 's spokesperson denied the accusation. But former defence minister Avigdor Lieberman told Israeli media outlet Haaretz he was convinced that Israel's defence ministry and its intelligence arm, Mossad, were funding the NGO. 'As someone who knows these systems well, it's clear to me when I see such a construction,' he said. 'You have a foundation that appeared out of nowhere, and a company operating without a background or experience." "We're talking about costs in the hundreds of millions to maintain hundreds of armed Americans with combat experience and to provide food,' he added. More recently, the Israeli military seems to have claimed some ownership of the GHF. In a video released on June 1, IDF spokesperson Effie Defrin says soldiers were responsible for opening the centres. 'Fear and deep suspicion' The GHF says that it has given out more than seven million meals from three 'secure' distribution sites since it started operations in the enclave a week ago. But its centres were closed on Wednesday as the group pressed the Israeli military to improve security. This left Gaza's population of 1.2 million, which the UN says now faces the risk of famine, with no access to essential food or medical supplies. 'Basically, the Israeli-backed aid distribution plan, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, has taken a day off,' FRANCE 24 correspondent Noga Tarnopolsky said while reporting from Jerusalem. Meanwhile, an Israeli military spokesperson on Wednesday warned civilians in Gaza against moving on roads leading to GHF sites, deeming them "combat zones". Since opening its centres in Gaza there have been near-daily reports of Israeli attacks killing dozens of Palestinians in proximity to the distribution sites and widespread chaos inside. Palestinians who collected food GHF boxes on Tuesday described scenes of pandemonium, with no one overseeing the handover of supplies or checking IDs as crowds jostled for aid. Conditions at the centres and the difficulty for Palestinians to access them has raised 'fear and deep suspicion' among critics that they are part of a wider Israeli plan to force Palestinian displacement, Arwa Damon, founder of non-profit aid organisation INARA, told FRANCE 24. 'It is exactly how you do not organise aid distribution,' Damon said. 'You do not force people to walk through danger zones, where they are at risk of getting shot, and only provide them with four locations where they can pick up this much-needed assistance. You don't force the population to walk six or seven hours to pick up a food parcel.'
France 24
a day ago
- France 24
US novelist Edmund White, chronicler of gay life, dead at 85: agent
"Ed passed last night at home in NYC (New York City) of natural causes," agent Bill Clegg told AFP, adding White is survived by his husband Michael Carroll and a sister. The literary pioneer's books includes "Forgetting Elena," his celebrated debut novel from 1973, "A Boy's Own Story," his 1982 coming-of-age exploration of sexual identity, and multiple memoirs, notably the revelatory "The Loves of My Life" published this year. From his earliest publications, homosexuality was at the heart of his writing -- from the 1950s, when being gay was considered a mental illness, to the sexual liberation after the Stonewall riots in 1969, which he witnessed firsthand. Then came the AIDS years that decimated an entire generation. White himself would be affected directly -- he was diagnosed HIV positive in 1985 and lived with the condition for four decades. Tributes to the award-winning writer began pouring in on social media, including from his longtime friend and fellow prolific American author Joyce Carol Oates. "There has been no one like Edmund White!" Oates posted on X. "Astonishing stylistic versatility, boldly pioneering subject matter; darkly funny; a friend to so many over decades." Fellow author and playwright Paul Rudnick said on X that White was a "gay icon" whose novels, memoirs and non-fiction "changed and enhanced American literature." White was an avid traveler, spending years researching biographies of French authors Jean Genet and Marcel Proust. In the 1970s he co-wrote "The Joy of Gay Sex," a how-to guide and resource on relationships, which was a queer counter to "The Joy of Sex," the hugely popular 1972 illustrated sex manual. In the 2010s White suffered two strokes and a heart attack. But he kept writing. In this year's "The Loves of My Life," he recalled all the men he had loved -- White numbered his sexual partners at some 3,000. The New York Times described the book as "gaspingly graphic, jaunty and tender." White himself acknowledged that literature was a powerful conduit for revealing the intimate sides of ourselves. "The most important things in our intimate lives can't be discussed with strangers, except in books," as he once wrote.
