Period blood isn't gross—it's a treasure trove for researchers

[View in browser]( [Support our nonprofit journalism]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     July 2, 2024 Hi, I'm Maddie Oatman, a senior editor here at Mother Jones. A few years ago, after I couldn't get pregnant, a doctor at a private clinic diagnosed me with "unexplained infertility." For a probing journalist, this news was frustrating. Basically, it meant that scientific research hadn’t gotten doctors to the point where they could determine what was wrong. It was around this time that I learned about a new field of science with the potential to reveal a much clearer picture of our reproductive systems. In [my latest feature](, I write about a small but growing wave of companies and research initiatives doing something that science and medicine have neglected to do for thousands of years: treating menstrual blood not as a waste product, but as an [important trove of information]( about the bodies it comes from. [As I report](, data hidden in its cells might help scientists crack the code to some of the most cryptic reproductive ailments. This was an exciting piece to report; I talked to researchers all over the world and traveled to a lab in Silicon Valley where [I met a menstruating robot](. But the maddening part of this story—the thing that every researcher I interviewed brought up—is that these discoveries might have happened a lot sooner if not for one thing: stigma. As one doctor I interviewed told me, there remains a deep-seated perception that menstrual blood "is kind of dirty." Another scientist told me that her male colleague who was studying feces, of all things, was disgusted to discover that she was interested in scrutinizing period blood. What would we understand about the body by now if we had taken this substance more seriously decades ago? Maybe people would not have to wait 10 years to be diagnosed with endometriosis, for one thing. Maybe doctors would finally be able to explain more cases of "unexplained infertility," rather than throwing up their hands and telling patients to spend tens of thousands of dollars on IVF. (Though, to be clear, I see IVF as a pretty miraculous technology—and it's currently under attack from some of the same conservatives who've passed stringent abortion restrictions to try to control and silence women.) I hope you enjoy this deep dive into the history and culture of society's attitudes about period blood, and what [new research is telling us about its clinical utility](. —Maddie Oatman Advertisement [House Bookshop Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [How RFK Jr. Falsely Denied His Connection to a Deadly Measles Outbreak in Samoa]( He also championed a Samoan anti-vaxxer tied to the 2019 lethal eruption that killed scores of children. BY DAVID CORN SPONSORED POST     [Sponsored Content]( [The Looming Threat of Christian Nationalism]( Christian nationalists want to create a Christian nation. THIS CONTENT WAS PAID FOR AND SPONSORED BY [AMERICANS UNITED FOR SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE](. [Trending] [The war in Gaza has made life nearly impossible for disabled people]( BY JULIA MÉTRAUX AND SOPHIE HURWITZ   [As Hurricane Beryl makes landfall, Caribbean leader calls out climate hypocrisy]( BY NATRICIA DUNCAN   [Plastic manufacturers may have broken US laws]( BY DHARNA NOOR   [Climate change is making for a dangerously hot election]( BY JULIA MÉTRAUX Advertisement [House Donations Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [Rags to riches]( The race to understand—and profit from—period blood. BY MADDIE OATMAN MOTHER JONES MEMBERSHIP UPDATE   GREAT JOURNALISM, SLOW FUNDRAISING Our team has been on fire lately—publishing sweeping, [one-of-a-kind]( investigations, ambitious, [groundbreaking]( projects, and even [releasing]( “the holy shit documentary of the year.” And that’s on top of [protecting free and fair elections]( and [standing up]( to bullies and BS when others in the media don’t. Yet, we just came up pretty short on our fundraising campaign. So even though we’re done screaming about [the donations we need]( for a while, if you value the journalism we do but haven’t pitched in recently, please [consider doing so now](—we urgently need a lot of help to make up for lost ground. And of course, THANK YOU SO MUCH to everyone who has pitched in. It means the world to us. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Share it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755