The Untapped Potential of Menstrual Blood Research
(written with the help of Claude)
Menstrual blood has been overlooked by the scientific community, despite its potential to revolutionize disease diagnosis and our understanding of reproductive health. A recent episode of Vox’s Unexplainable podcast, titled “The bleeding edge, part two”, highlights this issue and the promising research that is starting to emerge.
Key points from the episode:
Despite the uterus being identified for a long time, there are very few studies that have looked at menstrual blood.
While there are standard ways to collect other bodily fluids like stool, urine, and semen, no one has really thought about collecting menstrual blood scientifically.
Researchers are hoping to use menstrual fluid to make detecting conditions like endometriosis much easier, potentially replacing difficult diagnostic procedures like surgery.
Funding for reproductive science is hard to come by, and there’s a shame tax/stigma attached to it.
We’ve missed so much about female and birthing bodies in general because we thought they were disgusting and shameful.
The podcast emphasizes the growing interest in studying menstrual blood and its potential applications. This research could lead to more accessible and less invasive diagnostic tools for conditions like endometriosis, which currently requires surgery for a definitive diagnosis. By studying menstrual blood, we may also uncover crucial insights into reproductive health and disease that have been overlooked due to stigma and lack of funding.
The Untapped Potential of Menstrual Blood Research
(written with the help of Claude)
Menstrual blood has been overlooked by the scientific community, despite its potential to revolutionize disease diagnosis and our understanding of reproductive health. A recent episode of Vox’s Unexplainable podcast, titled “The bleeding edge, part two”, highlights this issue and the promising research that is starting to emerge.
Key points from the episode:
Despite the uterus being identified for a long time, there are very few studies that have looked at menstrual blood.
While there are standard ways to collect other bodily fluids like stool, urine, and semen, no one has really thought about collecting menstrual blood scientifically.
Researchers are hoping to use menstrual fluid to make detecting conditions like endometriosis much easier, potentially replacing difficult diagnostic procedures like surgery.
Funding for reproductive science is hard to come by, and there’s a shame tax/stigma attached to it.
We’ve missed so much about female and birthing bodies in general because we thought they were disgusting and shameful.
The podcast emphasizes the growing interest in studying menstrual blood and its potential applications. This research could lead to more accessible and less invasive diagnostic tools for conditions like endometriosis, which currently requires surgery for a definitive diagnosis. By studying menstrual blood, we may also uncover crucial insights into reproductive health and disease that have been overlooked due to stigma and lack of funding.