Wellness
Common fatty acid may help restore healthy vaginal bacteria after infection
More than half of women globally experience bacterial vaginosis (BV) — an imbalance of naturally occurring microbes in the female genital tract — at least once in their life.
The condition can cause painful symptoms and vaginal discharge, and although treatable with antibiotics, it frequently comes back within a short time. If left untreated, BV can lead to problems with pregnancy and an increased risk of sexually transmitted infections, including HIV.
A team of researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard; the Ragon Institute of Mass General Brigham, MIT, and Harvard; and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital have discovered that oleic acid, one of the most abundant fatty acids in the body, restores a healthy balance of vaginal microbes in a laboratory model of BV.
Their findings, published in Cell, demonstrate that oleic acid and several other unsaturated long-chain fatty acids (uLCFAs), which are critical components of cell membranes and can have antimicrobial properties, simultaneously inhibit the growth of vaginal microbes associated with negative health effects and promote other species associated with a healthier female genital tract.
Treatments that promote this balance of microbes could one day help prevent repeat vaginal infections in people.
“Current treatment methods work as well as a coinflip, and that hasn’t changed in more than 40 years of medical practice, so new methods are needed to help patients” said first author Meilin Zhu, who recently graduated with a PhD from the labs of Paul Blainey, a Broad core institute member and MIT professor, and Doug Kwon, a core member of the Ragon Institute, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and an infectious disease physician at the Massachusetts General Hospital, both co-senior authors on the paper.
“I’m so proud of this team and the partnership we formed to follow the science and set up some major positive impacts on women’s health,” Blainey said.
“This is an amazing story of keen observation, serendipitous discovery, and the hard work that real scientific rigour demands.”
Metabolic differences
The human female genital tract is naturally colonized by microbial species in the Lactobacillus genus. Treating BV with antibiotics can shift the balance of lactobacilli toward an overabundance of Lactobacillus iners, a bacterial species that creates an environment that is more susceptible to BV recurrence.
Zhu sought methods of promoting Lactobacillus crispatus, a species that creates a more stable microbiome than L. iners. She planned to use a large-scale screen developed in the Blainey lab to study the impacts of different compounds on the bacteria.
But Zhu discovered an important clue even before she began the screening. A component of the culture medium used to grow lactobacilli in the lab was disrupting the screening tool, but the bacteria would not grow in culture without it.
While troubleshooting the issue, Zhu found that many of the lactobacilli required an ingredient in the medium — oleic acid — to thrive. When she cultured different strains of lactobacilli with oleic acid, she found that oleic acid inhibited growth of L. iners, the detrimental bacteria, and simultaneously promoted the growth of strains associated with healthier microbiota such as L. crispatus.
Using RNA sequencing and working with the Broad’s Metabolomics Platform and collaborators at St. Jude’s, the team identified a group of genes involved in processing uLCFAs that are present only in the non-Lactobacillus iners species.
One of these genes encodes the enzyme oleate hydratase, which sequesters uLCFAs, a scarce resource, into a form only bacteria with this enzyme can use. Another of the genes encodes a fatty acid efflux pump that is necessary for bacteria to withstand high concentrations of oleic acid.
“We used state-of-the-art genetics tools that a lot of researchers in vaginal microbiology haven’t had access to, even though they’re the gold standard for any mechanistic study,” Zhu said.
“It’s a good step forward for the field.”
She added that the field of vaginal microbiology does not receive the same resources as other areas of microbiology.
The team also modeled how oleic acid might affect the vaginal microbiome of BV patients by culturing bacteria associated with BV together with L. iners and L. crispatus. Oleic acid effectively inhibited growth of L. iners as well as most BV-associated bacteria, including some strains resistant to standard antibiotic treatment.
This indicates oleic acid may be an effective way to restore a stable, healthy microbiome in the female genital tract after BV.
“This study is an important example of how understanding core metabolic requirements and functions of key bacteria can lead directly to new therapies that allow us to modify the microbiome for improved health,” said co-senior author Seth Bloom, an infectious diseases instructor at the Massachusetts General Hospital.
At the Ragon Institute, Kwon’s lab is working to move this research toward a human clinical trial.
“We believe there is exciting potential to translate these findings to durably alter the vaginal microbiome to improve BV treatment and reduce adverse health outcomes for women globally,” Kwon said.
Women over 40 are seeking raves for mental and physical wellbeing, with a study suggesting the benefits go beyond nightlife.
The findings challenge the idea that nightlife and electronic dance music events are mainly for younger people.
Published in Psychology of Music, the study focused on the common misconception that nightlife is only for younger audiences.
Researchers surveyed 136 female clubbers aged 40 to 65 about their experiences at electronic dance music events.
The study, carried out at the University of Leeds in England, found women reported mental and physical wellbeing benefits from attending these events.
Seeing favourite DJs was the most common motivation, but many women also described dancing as a way to relieve stress and find emotional support.
The research found that 65.9 per cent of participants described attending a rave as “spiritual”, while 62.9 per cent said it offered an escape from everyday life.
A further 58.3 per cent said they felt like a different version of themselves in a club environment.
Nine in ten participants said they felt at home at electronic dance music events, with many pointing to a shared passion for music and the sense of community around it.
The study also suggested physical fitness played a role, with some women saying they had made clubbing part of their regular exercise routine.
However, the findings also highlighted challenges for older women in nightlife spaces.
One fifth of participants said they felt visibly out of place because of their age.
Nearly half reported unwanted physical contact, leading some to seek out different venues or attend only with friends.
Adolescent health
WUKA brings Period-Positive Pool Party to London Aquatics Centre to keep girls swimming through puberty
This summer, WUKA and triple Olympian Hannah Miley MBE are bringing their Period-Positive Pool Party to London Aquatics Centre with one clear mission: to prove that periods should never keep anyone out of the water
At a time when 84 per cent of teenage girls in the UK say their interest in sport declines after starting their period – and nearly 70 per cent report skipping sports or swimming due to menstruation – WUKA’s immersive community event is tackling one of the most overlooked barriers to girls’ participation head-on.
WUKA’s Period-Positive Pool Party was created as a safe, inclusive space for teens to swim on their periods with confidence.
Following a series of sold-out events across the UK, including Eastleigh and Stonehaven in Hannah Miley’s hometown of Aberdeen, the London-based Olympic venue is a result of growing demand from teens and parents seeking supportive, stigma-free spaces to stay active during menstruation.
Why This Matters?
For many young people – particularly those who are not ready to use tampons due to age, comfort, cultural reasons, or parental guidance – swimming during their period can feel inaccessible.
WUKA’s period swimwear offers an alternative designed to provide comfort, coverage, and confidence, helping ensure that periods don’t mean sitting on the sidelines.
The new one-hour London takeover combines swimming, education, and empowerment in one of the UK’s most iconic sporting venues.
Breaking The Stigma While Making A Splash
So much more than a product event, WUKA’s Period-Positive Pool Party is a fully immersive experience featuring a DJ-approved summer playlist, inflatable pool installations, and professional underwater photography capturing barrier-free swimming moments. Every teen will also receive a curated £80 wellness goodie bag, including free WUKA swimwear.
But more than anything, they’re about freedom, confidence, and belonging, ensuring the confidence to swim, period, or not, continues long after they leave the water.
Hannah Miley MBE says: “Being an athlete taught me that your cycle isn’t a weakness, it’s just something to manage.
“Partnering with WUKA for this Pool Party is about showing young swimmers that with the right support and the right kit, they don’t have to press pause on their lives or their sport because of their period.”
WUKA Founder Ruby Raut says: “This is about more than a pool party – it’s about changing what inclusion in sport actually looks like.
“Too many girls step back from swimming and physical activity because of period stigma or lack of options.
“Through community-led events like this, we’re breaking barriers, building confidence, and making sure no one feels excluded from sport because of their cycle.”
Saturday 30th May 2026 | 5–6pm | London Aquatics Centre
Want to join the pool party? Follow this link to buy your tickets
A recent study developed a new “digital companion” to support the prevention and follow-up of maternal cardiovascular risk in women with pregnancy complications.
Cardiovascular disease, or CVD, is the leading cause of premature death and illness in women, yet sex-specific causes remain understudied and women are underrepresented in research.
Pregnancy complications, including hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, or HDP, and gestational diabetes mellitus, or GDM, are strong predictors of future CVD, with pregnancy itself acting as a natural stress test.
Despite CVD accounting for 35 per cent of female deaths worldwide in 2019, systematic postpartum prevention remains limited in practice and incidence continues to rise.
Myocardial infarction, commonly known as heart attack, and stroke are the main fatal CVD events in women. Up to one-third of women develop hypertension within a decade after HDP, especially as maternal age rises.
Obstetric guidelines have historically lacked clarity on early CVD prevention after HDP and GDM, often relying on expert consensus rather than evidence.
Some cardiology guidelines now recommend personalised approaches, such as periodic hypertension and diabetes screening. Norwegian guidelines recommend cardiovascular risk evaluation at three months and one year postpartum, but adherence in practice is uncertain.
Effective risk reduction requires intervention before middle age. The immediate postpartum period following HDP or GDM is a critical window for early detection and intervention, offering an opportunity to engage women in cardiovascular health management, particularly as pregnancy can encourage long-term lifestyle awareness.
Electronic health, or eHealth, refers to the use of digital technologies and electronic communication tools to support healthcare services, medical information management and related health activities.
Systematic, eHealth-supported postpartum prevention can improve maternal health literacy and long-term cardiovascular outcomes.
However, there is a significant gap in targeted, eHealth-based postpartum interventions for cardiovascular risk management after HDP and GDM, despite strong patient demand and international calls for coordinated digital health strategies.
Home blood pressure monitoring shows promise, but broader digital support remains limited.
A cardiovascular postpartum follow-up programme was created as a mobile app based on Norwegian and international guidelines.
The MumCare app was developed through co-creation involving users, stakeholders and clinical experts. Five qualitative interviews and 10 user testing sessions informed improvements.
This study primarily analysed the iterative co-creation process used to develop the app, rather than evaluating clinical outcomes.
The MumCare project team in Oslo included an IT expert, obstetricians, a midwife, a GP, two sociologists and two cardiologists, all with relevant experience in eHealth and women’s health. A medical student with technological and medical expertise also helped turn ideas into app features for young women.
User representatives from two national patient associations contributed to information, recruitment, design and testing of the MumCare app.
Both associations provided user perspectives and took part in interviews and app testing. Additional users with HDP or GDM at Oslo University Hospital were also involved throughout the co-creation process.
The app’s digital infrastructure prioritises security and privacy, using encryption, de-identification and two-factor authentication.
User data is stored securely on the app and, for research purposes and with consent, on a dedicated University of Oslo server in line with GDPR and Norwegian regulations.
A linear Stage-Gate model structured the co-creation process, dividing it into phases with quality checkpoints reviewed in project meetings.
This approach balanced internal development with external user feedback, helping ensure the app is evidence-based, technically robust and user-centred.
The MumCare app guides postpartum women through tracking blood pressure, weight, physical activity and lab results, and provides personalised feedback to support self-management, mainly during the first postpartum year.
It also includes educational resources such as videos and guideline-based information to support understanding and engagement.
The app is also designed to support the transition from specialist pregnancy care to long-term follow-up with general practitioners.
It is described as a “digital companion” or health coach and does not replace clinical diagnosis or function as a medical device.
The co-creation process followed four phases focused on technical and procedural development.
In phase 1, input from expert organisations and user representatives established the app’s technical foundation.
It also reminds users of the one-year postpartum follow-up with their GP, a key time to assess risk factors and future care needs.
User organisation representatives gave feedback in phase 1, directly guiding content and feature development.
Phase 2 interviews confirmed that users want to monitor cardiovascular risk factors after HDP and GDM.
The analysis highlighted three themes: self-care strategies and uncertainties about hypertension, the need for accessible health information, and a more personalised approach to blood pressure monitoring in the app.
Concerns were also raised that frequent monitoring or app use could increase stress or create a sense of burden.
In phase 3, the app’s design and features were revised in response to feedback to improve usability and make sure they met users’ needs.
These changes led to a more intuitive and supportive interface for women during and after pregnancy.
Phase 4 involved building a prototype based on the updated designs, followed by further refinements after testing by the project team and users. Initial pilot testing with a small number of users suggested the app met its objectives and functioned as intended.
The MumCare app was co-created with input from experts, user organisations and patients over four phases.
Early expert and organisational contributions helped define the app’s goals, while ongoing feedback from patients helped ensure the design and content reflected users’ real needs.
This collaborative approach resulted in an app tailored to support women with pregnancy complications.
The MumCare app is currently being evaluated in a randomised controlled clinical trial that began in June 2024, with results needed to determine whether it improves long-term cardiovascular outcomes.
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