Swedish clinicians recently reported the first live birth after uterus transplantation, which was followed by two more uneventful births and another pregnancy that is near term.

In a new Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica commentary, one of the leaders behind these successes, Professor Mats Brannström, provides insights into how the Swedish uterus transplant project was initiated and its long research journey that spans over more than a decade. The first clinical uterus transplantation trial, which enrolled nine women, was initiated in early 2013 and is currently ongoing.

The preliminary results of the trial offer hope for women who lack a uterus--either from birth or due to a hysterectomy--or whose uterus is not functional.

Toxins known as perfluoroalkyl substances have become virtually ubiquitous throughout the environment, and various national and international voluntary phase-outs and restrictions on these compounds have been implemented over the last 10 to 15 years.

Investigators who examined trends in the accumulation of these toxins in the eggs of four species of aquatic birds from the Pacific coast of Canada from the early 1990s to 2011 report that the concentrations of some of these compounds are decreasing in line with manufacturing phase-outs, while others continue to increase in the oceanic environment.

Concentrations of different perfluoroalkyl substances also varied between offshore and coastal species of birds.

Male Callosobruchus chinensis seed beetles have spines on their genitalia, which increase their fertilization success but injure a female’s reproductive tract—especially a female of a related species called Callosobruchus maculatus.

New research indicates that such harmful male genitalia can diminish the reproductive success of competing species and may play an important role in interspecies competition, with considerable demographic and evolutionary consequences.

“Harmful male genitalia and consequent fitness loss in heterospecific females may be one of the mechanisms by which closely related species pairs are often prevented from local coexistence,” said Dr. Daisuke Kyogok, lead author of the Journal of Evolutionary Biology study.

Liquid metal electronics like antennas are intriguing because the shape and length of the conducting paths that form an antenna determine its critical properties such as operating frequency and radiation pattern. Using a liquid metal, such as eutectic gallium and indium, allows for modification of antenna properties more dramatically than is possible with a fixed conductor. 

But a significant and unfortunate drawback slowing the advance of such devices is that they tend to require external pumps that can't be easily integrated into electronic systems, so North Carolina State University researchers set out to create a reconfigurable liquid metal antenna controlled by voltage only.

Objections to automated driving seem a little silly, since millions of lives are lost in car accidents and human error is estimated to cause more than 90% of them.

It may just be fear of the unknown, the same precautionary principle that makes people worry about having a Twitter login or be concerned about vaccines or GMOs.

Regardless of the reasons for concern, it is a giant error to assume that data and reason will win out, as science has learned painfully about energy, medicine, food and pollution. Trust may instead be established in less direct ways and a recent paper argues that a virtual driver programmed to resemble the human driver could increase the level of trust and acceptance in smart cars.

Like with emissions-free, white-collar astronomy jobs, it seems strange that anyone would protest emissions-free alternative energy, but in the United States it faces an uphill battle. On one side environmental groups lobby for it, while on the other, different environmentalists wait to file lawsuits and if they aren't paid off quickly, it could take years to resolve in court.

Does the world really need men?

It has been suggested that, in the age of cloning – and with enough sperm banks around to populate several future generations – the question is legitimate.

However, new research suggests that the reason that we need two sexes is because it improves the overall genetic quality of a species and reduces the risk of population extinction.

By Marsha Lewis, Inside Science  – The statistics are shocking. Almost half of all Americans live with one or more risk factors for a heart attack.

Now, bioengineers at the Christman Lab at the University of California, San Diego have created a material that could repair and even reverse the damage done by a heart attack.

"A heart attack is a single event where the blood supply is blocked to that downstream tissue," said Karen Christman, a bioengineer at UCSD. When the tissue is deprived of the blood it needs, it becomes damaged.

Gary Hirshberg is a bit selective when it comes to transparency and labeling food and ingredients…at least when it applies to his own products.

In a televised interview with Bloomberg earlier this month, Hirshberg–the chairman of Stonyfield Organic and funder of the anti-GMO, pro-labeling Just Label It organization–was asked by a reporter why the company doesn’t give more information about the ingredient on its yoghurt cups: ‘natural flavor.’

Organic products would seem tailor-made for shoppers seeking foods and beverages that are healthier for them, their families and the planet, but a new analysis reveals that most Americans perceive the organic label as nothing more than an excuse to sell products at a premium. 

71 percent of consumers don't even think that organic products have a labeling standard. 51 percent believe that labeling something as organic is just an excuse to charge more. 72 percent do believe that the products are probably healthier.