FEATURED STORIES

Bisphenol-A (BPA), a chemical found in plastics that mimics the female hormone estrogen in the body, has been banned in baby bottles, sippy cups, and the lining of cans of formula since 2012 due to public outcry and toxicity research. Since then, ‘safer’ BPA alternatives have been used in products, but a new study adds onto growing evidence showing that BPA-free alternatives may not be as safe as consumers think.
In the study, BPA alternatives not only decreased sperm counts in mice, but the decrease led to less-viable eggs.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on September 12 warned 5 e-cigarette manufacturers, including Juul, that they have 2 months to figure out how they’ll prove to the agency that they’ve taken steps to prevent the sale of their products to young people. [1]
Experts say there has been an “epidemic” rise in teen use of e-cigarettes, which are typically sold with liquid nicotine that comes in a variety of tantalizing flavors that appeal to young people.

A recent study reveals matcha green tea to be a powerful cancer fighter, killing cancerous cells by preventing them from refueling.
Matcha green tea is tea in powder form. It is made from the leaves of green tea, which are covered in fabrics to give them a better taste and texture. The leaves are then hand-picked, steamed, and dried and left to ripen in a cold environment that boosts its rather bitter flavor before they are crushed into a powder.

People are spending less time outdoors and more time in front of gaming consoles these days. Most of these individuals can play video games without becoming obsessed with them, but others can’t be pried away from them. Well, in case you missed it, the World Health Organization (WHO) has classified “gaming disorder” as a mental health disorder, officially adding it to the 11th edition of its International Classification of Diseases (ICD) on June 18, 2018. Wait, what? [1]

German sportswear giant Adidas helped keep plastic out of the mouths of fish and off the world’s beaches in 2017 by selling 1 million shoes made from ocean plastic. [1]
Last year, Adidas teamed up with environmental initiative Parley for the Oceans to create its UltraBoost shoe, made from plastic found in the ocean, and introduced 3 new versions of the footwear.
At the time, Adidas said its goal was to create a million pairs of UltraBoost shoes.
Adidas CEO Kasper Rorsted said:

“We last year sold 1 million shoes made out of ocean plastic.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said earlier this year that more than 200 rare “nightmare” antibiotic-resistant genes were found during testing in 2017.
Dr. Anne Schuchat, principal deputy director of the CDC, expressed shock at the findings, saying:

“I was surprised by the numbers we found. Two million Americans get infections from antibiotic resistance, and 23,000 die from those infections each year.”

A member of the family that owns Purdue Pharma – the same company that makes OxyContin – has been awarded a patent for a treatment for opioid use disorder. [1]

A recent study reveals some startling news about the effects some pesticides have on bees, and it’s not good news. According to researchers from Imperial College London and Queen Mary University of London, bees get addicted to some pesticides in the same way that humans get addicted to nicotine. [1]
Over time, bees start to enjoy the taste of pesticide-laced food, eventually eating more and more in what the authors of the study describe as addictive behavior.

On July 28, 2018, a bill went into effect in Missouri that prohibits companies from “misrepresenting a product as meat that is not derived from harvested production livestock or poultry.” [1]

Rodney McMullen, the CEO of Kroger, announced August 23 that the supermarket chain will phase-out plastic bags from all of its stores by 2025.
Writing for USA Today, Mullen said: