Reproduction News and Research

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Human bone marrow has been used to create early-stage sperm cells

For the experiment, Prof Nayernia and his team took bone marrow from male volunteers and isolated the mesenchymal stem cells. These cells have previously been found to grow into other body tissues such as muscle.

15 Apr 2007

Genetic mutation that prevents sperm production found

Up to 15 percent of couples of childbearing age struggle with the heartache of infertility.

11 Apr 2007

Male births on the decline in the U.S. and Japan

A study published in this week's online edition of Environmental Health Perspectives reports that during the past thirty years, the number of male births has decreased each year in the U.S. and Japan.

10 Apr 2007

Bacterial endosymbionts are essential for the reproduction of a fungus

Endosymbiotic relationships, in which one organism lives within another, are striking examples of mutualism, and can often significantly shape the biology of the participant species.

7 Apr 2007

New understanding of the motivations that underlie acts of altruism

Beyond the lineage of primates, according to scientific gospel, social behavior is dictated primarily by competition for resources such as food, territory and reproduction.

4 Apr 2007

Pollen which is allergenic releases much greater amounts of nitric oxide and nitrite than a non-allergenic pollen

Hayfever is a major irritation for up to 20% of the population in most economically developed countries.

4 Apr 2007

Maternal beef consumption associated with lower sperm concentration

New research has shown that women who ate a lot of beef while pregnant had sons who were more likely to suffer from poor sperm quality as adults, and it suggests that the growth promoters used in cattle may play a role in these men's reduced fertility.

2 Apr 2007

California Senate Committee approves bill that would allow HIV-positive men to have sperm washed

The California Senate Health Committee on Wednesday voted unanimously to approve a bill (SB 443) that would allow HIV-positive men to have their sperm washed and used for fertility treatments, including artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization, under certain guidelines, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

2 Apr 2007

Mother's high beef consumption while pregnant associated with lower sperm counts in her son

Researchers sought to examine the relationship between semen quality and long-term risks from growth hormones and other chemicals in beef.

28 Mar 2007

Microbix granted Canadian patent for vaccine technology

Microbix Biosystems has announced that it has been granted a patent by the Canadian Patent Office for its Vaccine Technology. This technology holds the promise of significantly boosting global production of influenza vaccines.

22 Mar 2007

Aging boosts chances that a family line will be long-lived

Scientists have puzzled over just why organisms evolved aging as a strategy, and now there appears to be an answer. Allowing one individual to carry all the cellular damage inflicted over time, rather than dividing it between two organisms during reproduction, increases the chances that the individual's line will continue to reproduce for many generations to come, a new study indicates.

13 Mar 2007

Does having longer legs really make a difference?

Scientists have known for years that the energy cost of walking and running is related primarily to the work done by muscles to lift and move the limbs.

12 Mar 2007

Low-fat dairy food renders women less fertile

According to researchers in the U.S. eating low-fat dairy foods may render women less fertile.

28 Feb 2007

Ice cream to conceive!

Drinking whole fat milk and eating ice cream appears to be better for women trying to become pregnant than a diet consisting of low-fat dairy products such as skimmed milk and yoghurt, according to new research published in the journal, Human Reproduction.

28 Feb 2007

Trial of Aspirin to aid conception

Researchers at the University at Buffalo and the University of Utah are beginning a clinical trial to test whether aspirin can improve a woman's chances of becoming pregnant and of maintaining a pregnancy to term.

26 Feb 2007

Sperm competition phenomenon

In the context of sexual reproduction, natural selection is generally thought of as a pre-copulation mechanism. We are drawn to features of the human body that tell us our partner is healthy and will provide us a fighting opportunity to carry on our genetic lineage.

11 Feb 2007

Horse genome sequence assembled

The first draft of the horse genome sequence has been deposited in public databases and is freely available for use by biomedical and veterinary researchers around the globe, leaders of the international Horse Genome Sequencing Project announced today.

7 Feb 2007

Most fertility clinic web sites do not conform to advertising guidelines

The majority of fertility clinic Web sites do not adhere to their own association's advertising guidelines, according to a University of Illinois at Chicago study published in the January issue of Fertility and Sterility.

18 Jan 2007

Folic acid shown to prevent heart attacks and stroke

British researchers have found enough scientific evidence to support the claim that folic acid is both an easy and inexpensive way to reduce heart disease and strokes.

27 Nov 2006

Brookhaven target compounds to fight SARS

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory have set the stage for the rapid identification of compounds to fight against severe acquired respiratory syndrome (SARS), the atypical pneumonia responsible for about 800 deaths worldwide since first recognized in late 2002.

20 Nov 2006