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Researchers use small molecule compound to generate reversible birth control in male mice

The development of a male contraceptive pill has long proven to be elusive, but findings from a new study may point scientists in the right direction to making oral birth control for men a reality.

17 Aug 2012

Walnuts provide key nutrients that may be essential in male reproductive health

Research published in the recent issue of Biology of Reproduction Papers-in-Press reports that 75 grams (approximately 2.5 ounces) of walnuts consumed per day improved sperm vitality, motility, and morphology (normal forms) in a group of healthy young men between 21-35 years of age.

17 Aug 2012

Smoking is bad for your sperm

In men with varicocele, smoking alters semen quality and sperm function as well as inducing seminal oxidative stress, report researchers.

13 Aug 2012

Medical ethics: an interview with Anita Silvers

Medical ethics assists healthcare professionals to make decisions respectful of persons who happen to be their patients.

13 Aug 2012

Research focuses on evolution of sex and gamete function

The propagation of every animal on the planet is the result of sexual activity between males and females of a given species. But how did things get this way? Why two sexes instead of one? Why are sperm necessary for reproduction and how did they evolve? These as-yet-unresolved issues fascinate Timothy Karr, a developmental geneticist and evolutionary biologist at Arizona State University's Biodesign Institute.

13 Aug 2012

Inaugural event of National Women's Survivors Convention to be held in Nashville

In August 2013, Nashville will be the host city to the National Women's Survivors Convention (NWSC), a first of its kind national event designed to celebrate women cancer survivors.

9 Aug 2012

Playfulness may serve an evolutionary role in human mating preferences

Why do adults continue to play throughout their lives while most other mature mammals cease such behavior? According to researchers at Penn State, playfulness may serve an evolutionary role in human mating preferences by signaling positive qualities to potential long-term mates.

6 Aug 2012

Risky prenatal use of steroid to prevent intersex, tomboys and lesbians

A new paper just published in the Journal of Bioethical Inquiry uses extensive Freedom of Information Act findings to detail an extremely troubling off-label medical intervention employed in the U.S. on pregnant women to intentionally engineer the development of their fetuses for sex normalization purposes.

3 Aug 2012

Research roundup: Massachusetts health reform; Role of race and insurance in kidney transplantation

Access to Care After Massachusetts' Health Care Reform: A Safety Net Hospital Patient Survey -- Policy analysts have long said that Massachusetts and its 2006 health reform law provide great insight into the federal health law and how its expansion of insurance coverage will play out.

3 Aug 2012

DNA inherited from mother can speed up male ageing

Women outlive men by about five to six years but why? By age 85 there are roughly six women to every four men and by age 100 the ratio is more than two to one.

3 Aug 2012

Researchers develop improved expert system for diagnosis of thyroid disease

Researchers in India have developed an improved expert system for the diagnosis of thyroid disease.

3 Aug 2012

Miami Project to Cure Paralysis receives FDA permission to begin Phase 1 trial

The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis, a Center of Excellence at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, has received permission from the Food and Drug Administration to begin a revolutionary Phase 1 clinical trial to evaluate the safety of transplanting human Schwann cells to treat patients with recent spinal cord injuries.

1 Aug 2012

Childhood obesity could be related to growing problems with infertility

A dramatic increase in childhood obesity in recent decades may have impacts that go beyond the usual health concerns - it could be disrupting the timing of puberty and ultimately lead to a diminished ability to reproduce, especially in females.

1 Aug 2012

Unsuccessful fertility treatment reduces young-onset breast cancer risk

Women who are treated unsuccessfully with fertility drugs have a significantly reduced risk for developing young-onset breast cancer, compared with nonusers of such drugs, show the results of a sister-matched case-control study.

20 Jul 2012

EMA accepts Pfizer’s bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens MAA for review

Pfizer Inc. today announced that the European Medicines Agency (EMA) accepted for review the Marketing Authorization Application (MAA) for bazedoxifene/conjugated estrogens (BZA/CE), a potential new medicine for postmenopausal women with a uterus for the treatment of estrogen deficiency symptoms and treatment of osteoporosis in women at risk of fracture.

19 Jul 2012

Arsenic exposure impairs semen quality

Environmental exposure to arsenic significantly reduces semen quality in Chinese men, research shows.

18 Jul 2012

Marijuana use prior to pregnancy can increase risk of preterm birth

A large international study led by University of Adelaide researchers has found that women who use marijuana can more than double the risk of giving birth to a baby prematurely.

18 Jul 2012

Health risks of egg donation for young females

News is just breaking in India about Sushma Pandey, a 17-year-old young woman who died in 2010, two days after her third "egg donation." Her death is being attributed to the procedures used to extract eggs from healthy, desirable young females like Ms. Pandey. These eggs are often resold to affluent westerners for use in commercial production of their children. Her post-mortem report states she had "one abrasion, four contusions and a blood clot in the head, plus six injection marks" as well as "congestion in the ovaries and uterus."

14 Jul 2012

Blog posts examine how family planning money will be spent, who will oversee program

The Center for Global Development's (CGD) "Global Health Policy" blog on Thursday published two posts addressing family planning funding. In one, Amanda Glassman, director of global health policy and a research fellow at CGD, examines "what organization will actually allocate and spend these additional resources" pledged at the recent London Summit on Family Planning.

14 Jul 2012

'Impatient Optimists' blog posts address family planning ahead of London summit

Leading up to the London Summit on Family Planning taking place July 11, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation's "Impatient Optimists" blog published several posts addressing family planning issues.

11 Jul 2012