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Are there toxic chemicals in your workout clothes?
High levels of BPA have been found in sports bras, workout leggings and athletic shorts and shirts, and many of them are sold in Canada.
The Center for Environmental Health (CEH) in the U.S., took action May 17 by issuing legal notices to major athletic brands after testing revealed high amounts of bisphenol A (BPA), a toxic chemical, in the athletic clothing they were selling. In October 2022, the advocacy group also issued similar notices to other athletic companies after finding similar results.
Jimena Diaz Leiva, the science director at CEH, told Global News she believes “there’s certainly more to come.”
“It’s pretty ubiquitous. This type of fabric seems to be kind of a problem across a lot of brands.”
BPA is an industrial chemical used in making polycarbonate, a type of plastic commonly found in food and beverage containers such as cans and reusable water bottles.
It has been linked to a variety of health problems, such as brain and behavioural issues in babies and children as well as high blood pressure and infertility. Some studies suggest exposure to BPA may make people more prone to obesity and even cause premature death.
The workout gear CEH tested included leggings, sports bras, athletic shorts and shirts that are primarily made of polyester and also contain some spandex.
Read more about the brands involved in the testing and where Canada stands on the issue of BPA.
Fighting for better cochlear implant coverage
Erica Hall, a mother living in Mississauga, Ont., is hoping the province will help cover the replacement cost of an essential medical tool for her 18-month-old son — cochlear implants.
Hall’s son Greyson was born profoundly deaf but after receiving his cochlear implants he can now hear and dance to music.
Cochlear implants are surgically inserted medical devices designed to improve hearing for people with significant hearing loss.
An initial set of the device and the surgery to fit them is covered by the Ontario government, but the devices don’t last forever. Sometimes they need to be replaced or upgraded.
In Ontario, a second set is only partially covered, leaving families like the Halls, who do not have private insurance, on the hook for thousands of dollars.
“The cochlear implants are very expensive,” Hall said. “Once that warranty is up at the age of five, we are responsible for paying for the replacement device and that cost is over $11,000 out of pocket.
“We just we need help affording it because hearing shouldn’t be for the privileged, and that’s what I feel Ontario has made it to be.”
Read more about cochlear implants and how provinces vary with coverage.
— THE TOPIC —
AI discovers new antibiotic that can kill superbugs
— WHAT EXPERTS ARE SAYING —
Drug-resistant superbugs may be on the rise, but artificial intelligence may help combat this growing threat.
A study published Thursday in Nature Chemical Biology revealed that AI played a vital role in the discovery of a new antibiotic capable of combating drug-resistant bacteria.
The bacteria, known as Acinetobacter baumannii, causes infection in the lungs, blood and urinary tract, and also is constantly finding new ways to avoid the effects of the antibiotics used to treat it, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control.
The World Health Organization even labelled it as one of the world’s most dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
“Discovering new antibiotics against A. baumannii has proven challenging through conventional screening approaches,” the researchers from McMaster University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stated in the article.
“Fortunately, machine learning methods allow for the rapid exploration of chemical space, increasing the probability of discovering new antibacterial molecules.”
The researchers were able to find the antibiotic by growing the bacteria in lab dishes and then identifying drugs capable of blocking their growth. The researchers then fed this information to an AI so it could learn the chemical features of drugs that could attack the bacteria.
The AI discovered a new antibacterial compound (which the researchers named abaucin) that killed the bacteria.
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