Correlation or Causation: Discovered Links Between Tylenol and Autism

Some people have the pretense that women who take Tylenol during pregnancy cause their baby to develop autism. A recent study claims that this trend may be more correlation than causation. As per The National Society of Autism, autistic individuals may experience pregnancy pain differently when to an un affected individual, hence they are more likely to take Tylenol to remedy the pain. Due to the fact that autism is a highly heritable trait, one can see how this misconception could develop in other studies. The article claims that the only way to definitively prove that Tylenol is safe to take during pregnancy would be highly unethical and impractical. With this being said, the article does make the claim that there is no scientific data supporting the idea that Tylenol causes autism. Overall, the conclusion is that evidence so far suggests Tylenol does not cause autism, but research is still ongoing, and confusion exists because different studies have produced mixed results.

How Gene Changes and Loss Shape the Pygmy Sea Horse

        (How Gene Changes and Loss Shape the Pygmy Sea Horse)

How Gene Changes and Loss Shape the Pygmy Sea Horse

Kylee French

BIOL-2110-001 - GENETICS

Professor Guy F. Barbato

October 13, 2025

      The pygmy seahorse is a tiny and well-camouflaged creature. Varying in many colors, these small animals live in coral reefs in the Pacific Ocean; however, they don't live in your typical coral reefs. Pygmy seahorses live in venomous reefs. How? Their tails can safely grab onto the reefs through many gene adaptations. Scientists recently studied its DNA to understand how these traits evolved, revealing how both genetic changes and the loss of certain genes shaped this unique animal. They have so many different adaptations that they need to survive, and they have perfectly crafted their adaptations to live in their habitats. An article I read titled “How the Pygmy Sea horse Lost Its Snout” shares some more in-depth quotes on how this research occurred and what it could further mean.

     One of the most fascinating findings from the study is how genetic changes shaped the pygmy sea horse’s unique traits. According to the article, “Some of the mutations that pygmy sea horses gained altered single genetic letters in their DNA. Those alterations, in turn, caused subtle changes in the shape of certain proteins, including ones that are active in the sea horse’s nervous system” (Zimmer, 2025). This is how they are able to hold onto venomous coral because they evolved to be immune. The article also explains that the knobs on their bodies, which help them blend into coral, evolved when “old genes learn new tricks”  (Zimmer, 2025) through changes in genetic switches. Perhaps most strikingly, pygmy sea horses have lost hundreds of genes and thousands of gene-regulating sequences, showing that evolution sometimes works by losing as much as by gaining, resulting in the animal’s highly specialized biology.

     Another remarkable aspect of the pygmy sea horse’s evolution is how losing genes contributed to its unique traits. The article explains that “the effect of these losses…was to halt the development of the pygmy sea horse’s head at an early stage,” resulting in its distinctive knob-like snout. Even though many immune-system genes were lost, the sea horses did not become more vulnerable to disease, likely because the corals they live on provide protective compounds. Interestingly, the loss of immune genes may have made male pregnancy possible, allowing fathers to carry embryos without their bodies rejecting them as foreign tissue (Allison, 2019).

     In conclusion, the pygmy sea horse is a remarkable example of how evolution shapes life through both changes in genes and the loss of genes. Its adaptations, immunity to venom, and male pregnancy show how genetic changes can produce highly specialized traits. At the same time, losing certain genes opened new possibilities, allowing these extreme adaptations to exist. However, their dependence on coral also makes them vulnerable, especially as their habitats face threats from climate change. Studying their genetics helps us understand how unique traits evolve.

                                                                           References

Allison. (2019, June 13). The Only Male Animals in the World That Get Pregnant and Give Birth. Padi. Retrieved October 13, 2025, from https://blog.padi.com/the-only-male-animals-in-the-world-that-get-pregnant-and-give-birth/ 

Smith, R. How Gene Changes and Loss Shape the Pygmy Sea Horse [Photograph].

Zimmer, C. (2025, August 25). How the Pygmy Sea Horse Lost Its Snout. The New York Times. Retrieved October 13, 2025, from https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/25/science/evolution-genetics-seahorses.html?searchResultPosition=2?camp=7JFJX

A Sister Study Shows linkage between Pregnancy Complications and Heart Risks

    On Monday February 10, 2025 an article published by HealthDay News called Sister Study Shows Link Between Pregnancy Complication, Heart Risks, reported that new research shows that even just being a sister to a pregnant women can result in having an even higher heart risk, suggesting that it can be genetically shared within families. The study lead author Angla Mantel states that it is important to try and identify all of the women early on in order to offer preventive treatment for pregnancy complications as well as having life counseling to follow up on the potential cardiovascular disease risk. Pregnancy conditions such as premature delivery and preeclampsia spikes the blood pressure which can be commonly dangerous to the pregnancy, however numerous studies have shown that women who experience this during their pregnancy are now at a higher risk of heart disease later on in life. Mantels team wondered "what the role of genetics might be in this predisposition." So they decided to review medical records of more than 1.2 million Swedish women who were all free of heart disease during the time of the study. Most of the women have never had any complications during pregnancy, however nearly 166,000 women who did have history with heart disease, there was about 61,000 of their sisters who had never had any pregnancy complications. As expected women with history of pregnancy complications were at higher risk of long term heart issues compared to women without any history of it. But after reviewing the records of the sisters of complication affected women found a risk in the risk. Comparing the women with no complications to the sister group, they faced a 40% higher chance of heart issues over the follow up period. The finding of the study show that the risk of cardiovascular disease after a pregnancy complication does not just depend on how the pregnancy was alone but can also be influences by genes and the environmental factors. 

I found this article very interesting because it this is not just a problem for women who are experiencing difficulties during their pregnancy but can also affect their sisters. This makes me wonder if having pregnancy complications could serve as an early warning sign for the families to seek preventative healthcare early on. This study suggests that genetics are shared with environmental factors in cardiovascular health which leads me to think that if women decided to seek preventative healthcare after finding having early complications, if doctors could use that information to identify high risk individuals earlier. 

Links:

https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2025-02-10/sister-study-shows-link-between-pregnancy-complications-heart-risks 

Why Baby Boys Bear the Brunt of Maternal Smoking...

    A recent study has shed light on the differential impacts of maternal smoking during pregnancy revealing that male offspring are more adversely affected than their female counterparts. This research indicates that prenatal exposure to tobacco smoke may have sex-specific consequences, particularly influencing the health and development of male children.

    The study suggests that male fetuses exposed to maternal smoking in utero face heightened risks of various health issues, including reduced birth weight and impaired neurodevelopment. These findings underscore the critical need for targeted public health interventions aimed at reducing smoking rates among pregnant women to mitigate these adverse outcomes.

    The mechanisms underlying this sex-specific vulnerability are not yet fully understood. However, researchers hypothesize that hormonal differences between male and female fetuses may play a role in modulating the effects of toxic substances like nicotine. Further investigation is required to elucidate these pathways and develop tailored strategies to protect vulnerable populations.

    This study adds to the growing body of evidence highlighting the detrimental effects of prenatal tobacco exposure.

Fetuses make a protein that causes morning sickness in pregnancy

The article from Science News published on January 3rd, 2024, talks about how it was thought to be a surge of hormones made by the fetuses that caused the nausea and vomiting for mothers, otherwise known as morning sickness. 

A new study found that GDF15, a protein connected to stress response, is found in greater amounts in pregnant patients experiencing nausea and vomiting than in non-symptomatic individuals. Despite reduced GDF15 production prior to pregnancy, a genetic variation in GDF15 raises the risk of hyperemesis gravidarums. High levels of GDF15, coming from the placenta and fetus, are found in pregnant individuals having this variation. Those with beta thalassemia, on the other hand, who have elevated GDF15, have fewer symptoms of nausea. Research on mice suggests that decreasing the nausea effects of GDF15 may include previous exposure. Metabolic syndrome could be prevented by increasing GDF15 with metformin. However more research needs to be done on the safety for GDF15-blocking therapies. Treatments for severe nausea and vomiting during pregnancy may benefit from specific medications that target GDF15.

This is important because so many women, about 80 percent of pregnant women, suffer from nausea and vomiting also known as morning sickness and there can be extreme consequences for both the mother and fetus. This can lead to weight loss, dehydration, and even hospitalization and death of the fetus or the mother. If we found a way to cure or prevent morning sickness it would help so many pregnant women. 

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/morning-sickness-pregnancy-nausea-vomiting-fetus-protein

https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/related-conditions/complications/severe-vomiting/#:~:text=Around%208%20out%20of%20every,women%20it%20can%20last%20longer.

Does Exercise During Pregnancy Lead to Exercise-Loving Offspring?

Recent science suggests that there are deeper genetic influences in which affect the amount of physical activity a person will be if predisposed in sections of their DNA during development in the womb, versus other gene variations that incline them to be less physically active. Scientists have pondered over the theory of developmental programming, which implies that the DNA in a developing baby can be manipulated by changes in the environment experienced and immediately after birth.

In the study, scientists collected genetically identical female mice and placed them in cages with running wheels. After a week of exercise, these mice were mated with male mice of the same genetic line. The pregnant female mice were then split into two groups: one group in a cage with a locked running wheel and the other group in a cage where they can run on a wheel at their own free will. The offspring from both groups were placed in a separate cage from the adult mice without a running wheel and any influences from their mothers to exercise. After a period of time the offspring were moved to cages where running wheels were available and monitors that tracked active movement aside from running on the wheel.

There were only a few notable differences between the two groups of offspring in their physical activity. However, as they entered adolescence, researchers observed that the offspring born from the running mothers were much more active both on and off running wheel. The disparity in physical activity continued as the two groups of mice aged, still considering the fact that they were genetically identical and raised the same way.

This study clearly suggests a mother's physical activity during the course of her pregnancy likely induced the physical activity of her offspring. Nonetheless, mice are not people, so these results don't necessarily correspond to the effect in human offspring and their mothers' being more active during their pregnancy, or why offspring in their later years grow even more enthusiastic to work out. More studies are intended to discover more research on this phenomenon to see if this is also implied in human beings, but I will definitely consider this article when I become pregnant. I'll certainly attempt to exercise frequently, but I'll also certainly treat myself to a box donuts after a nice walk around the park.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/06/are-we-born-to-run/?_r=0