We've Been Throwing Away Something Valuable

Scientific concepts, discoveries, and nature/biology phenomena

1) Why “periods” became taboo (historical/cultural-linguistic link)

• The English word “taboo” is said to derive from a Polynesian word (tapua) meaning menstrual flow.
• Cross-culture and cross-time consistency in treating menstrual blood as forbidden shaped medical attitudes for centuries.

2) Ancient medical theories of menstruation (humoral/impurity ideas)

• Ancient Greece: Delayed first menstruation could cause “hysteria” (with an etymology tied to the uterus). Psychological/behavioral issues were attributed to the “womb” acting improperly.
• Roman sources: Menstruation was framed as damaging/impure. Examples include claims that menstrual women could harm crops and objects.

3) The “menotoxin” hypothesis and its scientific investigation (later debunked)

• A hypothesis emerged that menstrual blood contains a toxic substance that harms other living things.
• Lancet-era experiments described:
  • Menstruating vs non-menstruating women/maids used in experiments.
  • Menstrual blood injected into rats; time-to-death used as a proxy for toxin concentration.
  • Menstrual-derived material used for plant growth to test mortality rates.
• Debunking:
  • The “menotoxin” effect was later attributed to bacterial infection, not intrinsic toxicity of menstrual blood.
• Despite debunking, cultural beliefs persisted and continued to impede research.

4) Mammalian physiology: “covert menstruation” vs human shedding

• Many mammals do not menstruate visibly.
• If pregnancy doesn’t occur, uterine lining is reabsorbed rather than shed.
• This internal recycling is described as covert menstruation.

5) Why humans menstruate (evolutionary/functional hypotheses)

• Leading hypothesis: spontaneous decidualization
  • The uterus builds a thick, nutrient-rich lining monthly without an embryo signal.
  • If no pregnancy occurs, the lining sheds (menstruation).
• Another hypothesis/theme: menstruation as a quality control / environmental assessment process.
• Additional idea mentioned:
  • Menstrual shedding may flush environmental contaminants out of the body; menstrual fluid can reflect exposures (e.g., air pollution particles found in menstrual blood).

6) Regeneration biology of the endometrium (nature phenomenon)

• The endometrium is described as one of the body’s most reliable self-regenerating tissues:
  • It rebuilds rapidly in ~3–5 days after shedding.
  • It repeats ~400 times over a lifetime.
• Mechanism: adult stem-cell-driven regeneration is emphasized.

7) Adult endometrial stem cells (discovery and characterization)

• Caroline Gargett and colleagues are credited with functional evidence (in 2004) that endometrial stem cells exist.
• Two populations described:
  • Stem cells in the epithelial layer
  • Stem cells in the stromal layer
• Claimed properties:
  • Self-renewal and differentiation
  • Some evidence of unusual versatility compared with typical bone marrow stem cells.

8) Menstrual fluid as a rich biomaterial (proteomics and biomarkers)

• Proteomics results described:
  • Menstrual fluid has high protein complexity
  • Includes proteins not found in regular blood
  • Suggests a biochemical profile that hadn’t been characterized due to neglect/disgust/cultural taboos.

9) Potential therapeutic effects of menstrual fluid and stem cells (experimental findings)

• Skin wound healing (Jemma Evans):
  • Human skin cell layers with puncture-like wounds + menstrual fluid
  • Reported “holes gone” and wounds healed in ~24 hours (in cell culture)
  • Controls without menstrual fluid heal on a slower normal timeline
• Replication attempts include:
  • Human tissue from plastic surgery patients
  • Pig skin (more realistic animal model), with less dramatic but consistent signals
• Mechanistic implication: proteins in menstrual fluid may accelerate tissue repair.
• Potential application areas mentioned:
  • Diabetic wound healing / ulcer risk
  • Burn injuries
  • Vascular disease-related wounds
  • Battlefield injuries

10) Funding and research inequities (system-level barrier)

• Menstruation/reproductive research is described as underfunded, and menstrual-blood research even more so.
• NIH described as funding only a fraction of applications (roughly ~20% stated).
• A broader pattern is described:
  • Many first authors are women, but many last/lead authors are men—shaping grant/field priorities.

11) Translational pathway: biobanks and personalized therapies

• A San Francisco startup (Miuws Bio) is described as building a:
  • Menstrual stem cell biobank
  • Collects/stores/transforms stem cells from menstrual blood
  • Aims for lower-cost access versus bone marrow collection
• Claimed advantage:
  • Bone marrow stem cells typically require invasive collection; menstrual stem cells can be collected non-invasively.
• Example product described:
  • A skin serum made from growth factors produced by cultured menstrual-blood stem cells.
• Claimed clinical/preclinical evidence (as stated):
  • Treatments/effects being tested for:
    • Infertility
    • Premature ovarian insufficiency
    • Intrauterine adhesions
    • Liver disorders
    • Wound healing
    • Neurological diseases
• Example IVF-related claim (as stated):
  • Autologous (self-derived) menstrual stem cells may increase pregnancy rates after failed IVF cycles (one specific reported figure: up to ~42% from near-zero in the described context).

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Researchers / sources featured (as named in the subtitles)

• Pliny the Elder (Roman naturalist/military commander; alleged menstrual-blood claims)
• Tertullius (Roman theologian; “woman is a temple built over a sewer” quote)
• Bela Schick (Viennese physician; “menotoxin” research and Lancet publication)
• Caroline Gargett (biologist, Melbourne; endometrial stem cell research; 2004 functional evidence)
• Jemma Evans (Australia; menstrual fluid wound-healing experiments; later left research due to lack of infrastructure)
• BetterHelp (sponsor mentioned; therapy-related research/usage not central to menstrual biology but featured)
• Miuws Bio (startup; menstrual stem cell biobank and product/clinical claims)
• NIH (National Institutes of Health) (funding body discussed)
• The Lancet (journal referenced for historical and contemporary scientific discussions)