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Study shows positive link between percentage of motile sperm and serum vitamin D levels

Vitamin D is important for optimal reproductive function in both animals and humans. It has long been known that serum vitamin D level is important for reproductive function in various animals, but now researchers from the University of Copenhagen and Copenhagen University Hospital have shown that this relationship can also be demonstrated in humans.

26 May 2011

Infertility centers under scrutiny

Private infertility treatment centers in Britain are set to come under increased scrutiny. These centers have come under scrutiny for exploiting vulnerable couples with their high fees and exaggerated success story claims.

23 May 2011

Gene variant linked to infertility in women

A variation in a gene involved in regulating cholesterol in the bloodstream also appears to affect progesterone production in women, making it a likely culprit in a substantial number of cases of their infertility, a new study from Johns Hopkins researchers suggests.

16 May 2011

Computationally designed antiviral proteins may fight against influenza

A research article May 12 in Science demonstrates the use of computational methods to design new antiviral proteins not found in nature, but capable of targeting specific surfaces of flu virus molecules.

16 May 2011

Study provides evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells

A single adult cell from one of the most impressive masters of regeneration in the animal kingdom - the planarian - is all it takes to build a completely functional new worm, researchers have learned. The study provides the first hard evidence that adult planarians harbor pluripotent stem cells - cells capable of producing the diverse range of tissue types necessary to build a complete animal.

13 May 2011

Study finds strong link between live birth rates and number of eggs retrieved in one IVF cycle

An analysis of over 400,000 IVF cycles in the UK has shown that doctors should aim to retrieve around 15 eggs from a woman's ovaries in a single cycle in order to have the best chance of achieving a live birth after assisted reproduction technology.

11 May 2011

Maternal exposure to BPA during pregnancy linked to decrease in birth weight of children

Parental exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) during pregnancy is associated with decreased birth weight of offspring, compared with offspring from families without parental BPA exposure in the workplace, according to Kaiser Permanente researchers.

6 May 2011

Pregnancy via egg donation for women with Turner's syndrome potentially risky

Pregnancy via egg donation for women with Turner's syndrome is potentially risky, both for the mother and the child, according to a multi-centre study presented today at the European Congress of Endocrinology in Rotterdam.

4 May 2011

WWP2 protein appears to play a key role in tumor survival

A protein known as WWP2 appears to play a key role in tumor survival, a research team headed by a scientist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center reports in an advance online publication of Nature Cell Biology.

4 May 2011

Brazilian researchers develop hES cell line for therapeutic transplantation

Brazilian researchers, reporting in the current issue of Cell Transplantation, discovered difficulties in establishing a genetically diverse line of human embryonic stem cells to serve the therapeutic stem cell transplantation needs of the diverse ethnic and genetic Brazilian population.

3 May 2011

Harvard Medical School and BIDMC professor delivered Solomon A. Berson Distinguished Lectureship

Christos Mantzoros, MD, DSc, Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, delivered the Solomon A. Berson Distinguished Lectureship at the annual meeting of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology held earlier this month in Washington, DC.

30 Apr 2011

Scientists discover special mechanism that delays ageing

Animals that reproduce asexually by somatic cloning have special mechanisms that delay ageing provide exceptionally good health. Scientists at the University of Gothenburg have shown how colony-forming ascidians can activate the enzyme telomerase, which protects DNA. This enzyme is more active also in humans who attain an advanced age.

22 Apr 2011

ESHRE's Guide for CBRC aims to ensure high-quality assisted reproduction treatment

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology is setting the first ever standards in Cross Border Reproductive Care. The safety of patients, gamete donors, surrogates and future children take centre stage in ESHRE's Good Practice Guide for Cross Border Reproductive Care.

22 Apr 2011

Genetically modified mosquitoes tested to prevent spread of malaria: Study

According to the latest study in the journal Nature, researchers from Imperial College London and the University of Washington, Seattle found that after making specific genetic changes to a few mosquitoes and then allowing them to breed could eventually dramatically reduce the spread of the deadly disease malaria.

20 Apr 2011

IFFS and ESHRE support new standards for cross border reproductive care

The International Federation of Fertility Societies (IFFS) has been working with the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) in support of the ESHRE Good Practice Guide for Cross Border Reproductive Care.

20 Apr 2011

Advancell initiates ATH008 phase IIb study for hand-foot syndrome

ADVANCELL, an emerging Spanish biopharmaceutical company, has initiated a phase IIb clinical study of the Company's ATH008, for the treatment of the palmar-plantar erythrodysesthesia syndrome, also known as hand-foot syndrome, a painful side-effect of certain chemotherapies such as capecitabine and fluoropyrimidines.

20 Apr 2011

Study: Borna disease virus does not contain exact copies of genomic RNAs

Like bacteria, viruses have their own genome. The ends or termini of a viral RNA are especially interesting for virologists because they play an important role in reproduction and in the reaction of the innate immune system to the virus.

18 Apr 2011

Shrink Nanotechnologies to acquire Nanopoint

Shrink Nanotechnologies, Inc., an innovative high technology company, announced today that it has executed a binding letter of intent to acquire 100% of Hawaii-based Nanopoint Inc., a biomedical instrumentation and microfluidics company with global distribution for its award-winning suites of life sciences products.

12 Apr 2011

Researchers manage to grow human rhinovirus in culture using sinus tissue

Using sinus tissue removed during surgery at University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have managed to grow a recently discovered species of human rhinovirus, the most frequent cause of the common cold, in culture.

11 Apr 2011

New treatment approach raises hope for women with ovarian cancer

Researchers at Oregon Health & Science University's Oregon National Primate Research Center may have good news for women at high-risk for ovarian cancer who also want to have children.

8 Apr 2011