The concept of gender-fluidity -- or “mahu” -- has existed in Hawaii for hundreds of years and is the hallmark of a culture that allows space between the concepts of male and female

House Republicans kicked off their first impeachment inquiry hearing Thursday laying out the allegations they will pursue against President Joe Biden, though their expert witnesses acknowledged Republicans don't yet have the evidence to prove the accusation they're leveling.

The evacuation zone in Iceland is “still dangerous”, a civil protection official has told The Independent, with current conditions leaving just a few minutes’ warning of a feared volcano eruption. A fortnight since Grindavik was evacuated, after magma-induced seismic activity tore vast chasms through the streets of the town, officials are expected to lower the threat level in the area on Thursday – enabling residents to return for longer periods to collect their valuables. Speaking to The Independent as international media were allowed back into the town for the first time, one civil defence official said: “It is still dangerous here ... I have never seen anything like it before. Usually we will have a few minutes warning to get out but with the weather like it is today we have even less.” In addition to fears of weather hampering monitoring systems, civil protection chief Vídir Reynisson told Fox News: “The challenge that we have is that we will not see any strong evidence that the magma is coming up, we will see some small earthquakes and we can see how they will probably form in one place rather than another.” Read More Could an Icelandic volcano ground flights like in 2010? When will the Iceland volcano erupt and what happens when it does? Is it safe to travel to Iceland? Your rights if you have a holiday booked ‘It’s like a dystopian movie’: Iceland residents describe ‘apocalyptic’ scenes as they flee volcano threat

A new study has found that placenta abnormalities could be the reason for miscarriages. In the United States, there are approximately 5 million pregnancies per year with 1 million ending in a miscarriage and over 20,000 ending in stillbirth, according to a paper published in the journal Reproductive Sciences. “To have a pregnancy loss is a tragedy. To be told there is no explanation adds tremendous pain for these loss families,” said senior author of the paper and research scientist at Yale School of Medicine, Dr Harvey Kliman “Our goal was to expand the current classification systems to decrease the number of cases that remained unspecified.” For the study, researchers worked to create a classification system for miscarriages based on a test that examines a sample of the body’s tissues – known as pathologic examination. The team looked at a series of 1,527 single-child pregnancies that ended in miscarriage, and the data was then sent to Yale for evaluation. After excluding cases without adequate material for examination, 1,256 placentas from 922 patients were examined. Of these, 70 per cent were miscarriages and 30 per cent were stillbirths. By adding the explicit categories of “placenta with abnormal development” (dysmorphic placentas) and “small placenta” (a placenta less than the 10th percentile for gestational age) to other incidents such as cord accident, abruption, thrombotic, and infection – researchers were able to determine the results of 91.6 per cent of the pregnancies, including 88.5 per cent of the miscarriages and 98.7 per cent of the stillbirths. The most common results for unexplained miscarriages were dysmorphic placentas (placenta with abnormal development) which was around 86.2 per cent. For stillbirths, there was 33.9 per cent due to a small placenta. “This work suggests that the over 7,000 small placentas per year associated with stillbirths could have been detected in utero — flagging those pregnancies as high risk prior to the loss,” said Dr Kliman. “Likewise, the identification of dysmorphic placentas may be one way to potentially identify genetic abnormalities in the almost 1 million miscarriages that occur in our country every year.” He said having a definite explanation “for a pregnancy loss helps the family understand that their loss was not their fault, allows them to start the healing process, and, when possible, prevent similar losses — especially stillbirths — from occurring in the future.” When asked what the most effective way might be to prevent stillbirths, Dr Kliman responded, “Measure the placenta!” Read More 'Please, keep beating little heart': Man gives raw account of wife's miscarriage and fears for new unborn child Woman who had six miscarriages celebrates pregnancy with rainbow baby photoshoot Miscarriage: The loneliest grief of all Nearly a fifth of parents fear children will ignore health issues while at university Brits feel their mental health declining due to cost of living crisis How often should you wash your pyjamas?

Poland’s voters delivered a clear verdict

Tropical Storm Rina has formed in the Atlantic Ocean on the heels of Tropical Storm Philippe

Scientists are wondering if global warming and El Nino have an accomplice in fueling this summer’s record-shattering heat

Although the bodies were too decomposed, cops believe that Novak's mother, Crystal Holder, and her husband, Rick Biering, were among the deceased

Pro Football Hall of Famer Terrell Owens escaped injury after being hit by a car following an argument in Calabasas, California, on Monday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department.

(Reuters) -A sea drone attack damaged a Russian tanker near the strategic bridge linking Russia to the annexed peninsula of

Born in 2000 in the Baltimore area, Alex Eubank keeps his family life private but openly talks about his Christian faith on social media

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has charged 16 Republicans with multiple felonies after they are alleged to have submitted false certificates stating they were the state’s presidential electors despite Joe Biden’s 154,000-vote victory in 2020