Conception News and Research

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Uninherited genetic mutations can cause spina bifida

Genetic mutations which occur naturally during the earliest stages of an embryo's development can cause the severe birth defect spina bifida, finds a new experimental study in mice led by UCL scientists.

19 Feb 2021

At-home, mail-in testing kit can accurately test sperm up to 52 hours after sample collection

Some 15% of couples struggle with infertility. When couples fail to conceive, guidelines recommend both the man and woman undergo a tandem fertility evaluation.

12 Feb 2021

Zinc supplements can improve infertility issues during COVID-19 pandemic

Wayne State University School of Medicine researchers have reported that zinc supplements for men and women attempting to conceive either naturally or through assisted reproduction during the COVID-19 pandemic may prevent mitochondrial damage in young egg and sperm cells, as well as enhance immunity against the virus.

5 Feb 2021

Plants depend on LEAFY protein that enables cells to change their fate

Cells don't express all the genes they contain all the time. The portion of our genome that encodes eye color, for example, doesn't need to be turned on in liver cells. In plants, genes encoding the structure of a flower can be turned off in cells that will form a leaf.

28 Jan 2021

Machine learning identifies patterns of maternal autoantibodies associated with autism

Using machine learning, researchers at the UC Davis MIND Institute have identified several patterns of maternal autoantibodies highly associated with the diagnosis and severity of autism.

26 Jan 2021

Patients with schizophrenia have increased risk of Parkinson's disease, shows study

A new study conducted at the University of Turku, Finland, shows that patients with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder have an increased risk of Parkinson's disease later in life.

15 Jan 2021

Heat treatment during chemotherapy is more effective at destroying cancer cells

Heating up cancer cells while targeting them with chemotherapy is a highly effective way of killing them, according to a new study led by UCL researchers.

5 Jan 2021

Study: Exposure to metals may disrupt a woman's hormones during pregnancy

Exposure to metals such as nickel, arsenic, cobalt and lead may disrupt a woman's hormones during pregnancy, according to a Rutgers study.

21 Dec 2020

Maternal stress may lead to preterm births, accelerate child's biological aging

Why do some people age faster than others? One potential answer, a new UCLA-led study indicates, is that a mother's stress prior to giving birth may accelerate her child's biological aging.

30 Nov 2020

Researchers receive $8.3 million NIH grant to illuminate the causes of spina bifida

Researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine, in collaboration with Rady Children's Institute for Genomic Medicine, have been awarded a five-year, $8.3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health's Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development to further illuminate the causes of spina bifida, the most common structural defect of the central nervous system.

20 Nov 2020

Modifiable risk factors in the first 1000 days of life predict higher adiposity and cardiometabolic risk

Early life risk factors in the first 1000 days cumulatively predict higher obesity and cardiometabolic risk in early adolescence, according to new research led by the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute.

16 Nov 2020

Women with kidney failure have low rates of contraceptive use, research finds

New research from the University of Cincinnati finds that women with kidney failure have low rates of contraceptive use.

12 Nov 2020

Exposure to air pollution during fetal period, early life linked with higher blood pressure

Exposure to an urban environment characterized by high levels of air pollution and noise in areas with a high building density during the fetal period and in early childhood may contribute to higher blood pressure.

12 Nov 2020

Trial results show CAB LA is more effective in preventing HIV acquisition in women

The HIV Prevention Trials Network study (HPTN 084) on the safety and efficacy of the long-acting injectable antiretroviral drug cabotegravir (CAB LA), for pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) in HIV-uninfected women, was stopped early by the trial Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) as results showed CAB LA to be highly effective in preventing HIV acquisition.

10 Nov 2020

Researchers to develop new optogenetic tools for biology and medicine

The European Research Council (ERC) is providing 10 million euros in funding for an interdisciplinary, collaborative project in the structural and biophysical analysis of selected photoreceptors and their development into "OptoGPCRs", light-controlled molecular switches with a wide range of applications in biology and medicine.

8 Nov 2020

Women with interstitial lung disease may not need to terminate their pregnancies

A new study shows that women with interstitial lung disease (ILD) related to autoimmune disease may not need to terminate their pregnancies--despite the increased risk of adverse outcomes--provided they have close monitoring from their team of multidisciplinary physicians before, during and after pregnancy.

6 Nov 2020

Coming abortion fight could threaten birth control, too

Abortion opponents were among those most excited by the addition of Justice Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court. And they had good reason to be.

5 Nov 2020

The connection between severe COVID-19 and white blood cell counts

However, in other research, white blood cells' exact roles and subtypes in severe COVID-19 are still unclear. The team writes, "It is unknown if blood cell counts before infection are associated with the risk of developing severe COVID-19." They explained that the numbers of these cell types could be influenced by several factors such as age, gender, disease status, and medications.

19 Oct 2020

Elevated birth weight is linked with atrial fibrillation later in life, shows study

Elevated birth weight is linked with developing atrial fibrillation later in life, according to research presented at the 31st Great Wall International Congress of Cardiology (GW-ICC).