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The untold stories of children of sperm donors

From Jennifer Lahl and The Center for Bioethics and Culture, producers of the award-winning Eggsploitation (2010), Anonymous Father's Day presents the untold stories of children of sperm donors.

21 Nov 2011

Brain boosts processing of sexually arousing signals

Researchers at the University of Tampere and the Aalto University, Finland, have shown that the perception of nude bodies is boosted at an early stage of visual processing. The research was funded by the Academy of Finland.

17 Nov 2011

Cultured ES cells can self-organize into three-dimensional tissue-like structures

The possibility that functional, three-dimensional tissues and organs may be derived from pluripotent cells, such as embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), represents one of the grand challenges of stem cell research, but is also one of the fundamental goals of the emerging field of regenerative medicine.

14 Nov 2011

U.S. News names three Women & Infants physicians among Top Doctors list

Three physicians on the staff at the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island were recently named to the U.S. News & World Report Top Doctors list of reproductive endocrinologists.

10 Nov 2011

Assisted reproduction rates rise and multiple births decline: Australian report

Latest reports from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare show that the number of Australian and New Zealand women giving birth to twins after becoming pregnant with the help of assisted reproductive technology has reduced and may continue its declining trend.

8 Nov 2011

China's 'one-child policy' delayed world's reaching population of 7 billion; China to maintain policy

"The world's population is expected to hit seven billion around October 31," CNN's Jaime FlorCruz reports in his column, "Jaime's China." This is a number that would have been reached five years earlier were it not for China's family planning policy, according to Zhai Zhenwu, a professor at Renmin University School of Sociology and Population. FlorCruz writes that experts at the National Population and Family Planning Commission of China say "the policy has prevented more than 400 million births in the country."

2 Nov 2011

Seven billion humans and counting

According to the United Nations Population Fund, the seven-billionth child is most likely to be a boy born in India or China, this week. However the trend of fertility or growth of population in the longer term is in a different direction toward slower population growth, says Dudley Poston, a professor of sociology and demographics at Texas A&M University.

31 Oct 2011

Researchers shed light on inner workings of endocycle

An international team of researchers led by investigators in the U.S. and Germany has shed light on the inner workings of the endocycle, a common cell cycle that fuels growth in plants, animals and some human tissues and is responsible for generating up to half of the Earth's biomass.

31 Oct 2011

Infertility treatment linked to borderline ovarian tumors

New research shows that women who undergo ovarian stimulation to produce extra eggs for in-vitro fertilization (IVF) are at increased risk for a type of growth known as “borderline ovarian tumors”.

30 Oct 2011

BGI, UC Davis partner to create new sequencing facility in Sacramento

The University of California, Davis, and BGI, the world's largest genomic institute, based in China, have signed a historic agreement that will change the landscape of genomic sciences in California and the Western states, and foster critical breakthroughs in the areas of food security and human, animal and environmental health.

27 Oct 2011

Tenofovir gel confirmed to be effective against herpes in lab experiment, study shows

Data from lab experiments published online by the journal Cell Host and Microbes last week show that the gel form of the antiretroviral tenofovir, which is being investigated as an HIV prevention method, works to inhibit the reproduction of herpes virus in tonsil and cervical tissue, the New York Times reports.

24 Oct 2011

Wolbachia study reveals novel approaches to control insects transmitting deadly diseases

Researchers at Boston University have made discoveries that provide the foundation towards novel approaches to control insects that transmit deadly diseases such as dengue fever and malaria through their study of the Wolbachia bacteria.

21 Oct 2011

Emory researcher provides overview on 'CVD and PCOS' in APS conference

Sarah Berga, MD, former Chair of the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics at the Emory University School of Medicine, is a researcher whose work focuses on understanding the impact of metabolic and psychological stresses on the reproductive system and as a cause of infertility, as well as on PCOS. She will provide an overview of her team's work in a presentation entitled, "CVD and PCOS." Her remarks are part of the Physiology of Cardiovascular Disease: Gender Disparities conference, October 12 at the University of Mississippi in Jackson.

15 Oct 2011

Novel link between cell surface sugars, Darwinian sexual selection, and immune function

Researchers at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine say that losing the ability to make a particular kind of sugar molecule boosted disease protection in early hominids, and may have directed the evolutionary emergence of our ancestors, the genus Homo.

11 Oct 2011

New technique could give a preview of which eggs are likely to make the most viable embryos

Given the stakes of in vitro fertilization, prospective parents and their doctors need the best information they can get about the eggs they will extract, attempt to fertilize, and implant. New research at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island has found a way to see which genes each egg cell is expressing without harming it.

7 Oct 2011

Researchers identify unusual genomic architecture linked with very severe forms of disease

When cells divide normally, DNA gets copied perfectly and distributed among the daughter cells with an even hand. Occasionally though, DNA breaks during division and is rearranged, resulting in duplications or deletions of important parts of the blueprint.

3 Oct 2011

Two Smithsonian scientists win PECASE award for innovative research, scientific leadership

Two scientists at the Smithsonian Institution have been honored with the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for their innovative research and scientific leadership. It is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on science and engineering professionals in the early stages of their independent research careers.

28 Sep 2011

A Daddy’s heart is healthier: Study

A new study shows that fathers are less likely to die of heart disease than men who’ve never had kids. This raises questions about a possible biological link between male infertility and overall health. Other recent studies have found a connection between testicular and prostate cancer and infertility.

27 Sep 2011

Researchers analyse effects of BPA in an in-vitro culture of ovaries

Researchers at Universitat Aut-noma de Barcelona, in collaboration with the Vall d'Hebron Hospital Fetal Tissue Bank, the Department of Gynaecology and the Research Unit of Paediatric Endocrinology, analysed the effects of Bisphenol A (BPA), a polymer widely used to manufacture plastics, in an in vitro culture of ovaries.

22 Sep 2011

Researchers show how the body rids itself of damage when needed to reproduce and create new life

Although the body is constantly replacing cells and cell constituents, damage and imperfections accumulate over time. Cleanup efforts are saved for when it really matters. Researchers from the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, are able to show how the body rids itself of damage when it is time to reproduce and create new life.

21 Sep 2011