For years, my guest Pat Hunt, a geneticist out of Washington State University in Pullman, Washington, has been researching the role of age on women's ability to produce genetically normal eggs.
In this episode Pat explains what aneuploidy is (okay, I’ll tell you too! It is a condition where there is an abnormal number of chromosomes in a cell’s nucleus (where DNA is located)), which is related to her career-long research into why it can be harder for older women to conceive.
And, she tells us how an accident in her research lab lead her and her team to the conclusion that bisphenol A (an endocrine-disrupting chemical) increases the frequency of aneuploid eggs in mice.
This spawned (intentional pun) a new interest for her about the effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals on the reproduction of mammals, sending Pat on a whole new career trajectory.
Okay, what is bisphenol A? You might have heard the initials BPA used, or seen the term “BPA - free” on packaging. BPA is a synthetic chemical used in forming polycarbonate plastic (which is hard and sometimes shatterproof) and epoxy resin (found in the linings of canned goods). It mimics the hormone estrogen and disrupts the endocrine system which controls brain development, the reproductive system, metabolism, hormones, and glands, to name a few. It has been used in the plastics of water bottles, food storage containers, medical devices, and eyeglass lenses.
Even though it has been over twenty years since that fateful lab accident, the topic of BPA use is still debated in some circles. But Pat’s research has far-reaching impact, including legislation prohibiting the use of BPA in children’s drinking cups and baby bottles.
Here’s a link to a short Q & A with Pat:
https://www.cell.com/current-biology/pdf/S0960-9822(12)00938-4.pdf
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