Lab 041: Out of Control
About This Lab
In the landmark 1973 Supreme Court Case Roe v Wade it was determined that a woman had the right to terminate her pregnancy up to 24 weeks. With the change in the Supreme Court makeup over the last few years, states have been passing laws to challenge this longstanding ruling. In Mississippi, they have banned abortions after 15 weeks. In Texas, they have passed the Heartbeat Act which bans abortions after ~6 weeks.
As a result of the laws passed in Mississippi, the Supreme Court is hearing Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization. This is the first time since 1973 that the Supreme Court has heard a case that questions if its constitutional to ban abortion before viability.
We have been hearing a lot of chatter about how folks should be on birth control so they won’t need to worry about having an abortion. So in this Lab, we talk to Dr. Elizabeth Ruzzo, the founder and CEO of Adyn, all about birth control.
The highly effective methods birth control work by either : 1. preventing ovulation or 2. by preventing the sperm from successfully fertilizing the egg by way of the thickening of the cervical mucus. So with the exception of the copper IUD, they all work by adding low levels of exogenous hormones. Exogenous hormones are specifically synthetic forms of either estrogen or progesterone. Whether it the pill, the patch, the shot, or the IUD these forms of birth control are highly effective, but sometimes come with side effects like weight gain, changes in mood, and blood clots.
Birth control isn’t just used to prevent pregnancy its also medicine. Some people are prescribed birth control to treat symptoms from conditions like uterine fibroids, PMDD, PCOS, and endometriosis.
Based on your hormone levels or genetics being prescribed birth control for any reason can be risky. If you have a high propensity for blood clots or a history of depression some types of birth control can lead to issues. Dr. Ruzzo explained to us the testing involved that can help doctors prescribe the right type of birth control for an individual.
Guest Experts
Elizabeth Ruzzo received her PhD from Duke University in human genetics and genomics where she learned how to analyze big data with an emerging technology known as “next-generation sequencing”. She has discovered linkages (or connections) between over 36 genes and specific human diseases. During her Postdoctoral Fellowship at UCLA she used machine learning to uncover 16 new autism genes, showing clear evidence of inherited risk for autism. She is personally driven to close the medical research gender gap.
Dr. Ruzzo is the CEO and Founder of Adyn, where there goal is to “to make scientific discovery more inclusive so everyone can live their healthiest life.” Their current focus in on using your genetics and hormone levels to determine the best birth control for an individual.