Television Role Models and Fertility Evidence from a Natural Experiment

In this paper we study the effect of television exposure on fertility. We exploit a natural experiment that took place in Germany after WWII. For topographical reasons, Western TV programs, which promoted one/no child families, could not be received in certain parts of East Germany. Using an IV approach, we find robust evidence that watching West German TV results in lower fertility. This conclusion is robust to alternative model specifications and data sets. Our results imply that individual fertility decisions are affected by role models or information about other ways of life promoted by media

A short exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls deregulates cellular autophagy in mammalian blastocyst in vitro

Background Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are common environmental contaminants that represent an important risk factor of reproductive disorders in chronically exposed human populations. However, it is not known whether a short accidental exposure of embryos to PCBs before implantation might influence their further development and whether the effect might be reversible.Methods AND Results To this aim, in vitro-matured sheep blastocysts were incubated with 2 or 4 g/ml Aroclor 1254 (A1254), a mixture of 60 PCB congeners for 48h after which blastocyst proliferation and ability for outgrowth in vitro were assessed. Blastocysts exposed to A1254 showed: (i) reduced proliferation and cell number (particularly in the inner cell mass compartment); (ii) accumulation of vacuoles and lipid droplets, diffused mitochondrial damage and up-regulation of autophagy markers (ATG6 and LC3), all signs indicative of deregulated autophagy, and (iii) massive cell death. Although exposed embryos resumed growth following A1254 removal, their subsequent development remained severely perturbed. Conclusions These findings indicate that short exposure of blastocysts to PCBs leads to its damage characterized by deregulated autophagy and subsequent cell death