Fertility News and Research

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British team grow sperm and eggs from stem cells

British scientists have made a major breakthrough with the discovery that both sperm and eggs can be grown from stem cells.

20 Jun 2005

Scientists prove that human embryonic stem cells can develop in the laboratory into the early forms of cells that eventually become eggs or sperm

Their work opens up the possibility that eggs and sperm could be grown from stem cells and used for assisted reproduction, therapeutic cloning and the creation of more stem cells for further research and for the improved treatments for patients suffering from a range of diseases.

19 Jun 2005

Transplantation of spermatogonial stem cells isolated from leukemic mice restores fertility without inducing leukemia

While more than 70% of patients survive childhood leukemia, curative chemotherapy can often irreversibly impair the formation of spermatozoa, causing infertility in males.

16 Jun 2005

Cockroach holds secret of women's fertility

The suggestion that a woman’s reproductive history may affect her ability to have children in the future has been a puzzle to scientists for years.

From The University of Manchester 16 Jun 2005

Study sheds light on endometriosis pain

Women with endometriosis often have several types of chronic pain conditions because their abnormal growths develop a nerve supply that communicates with the brain, new research suggests.

10 Jun 2005

Girls who can't orgasm can blame it on their genes

Scientists have discovered that an inability in some women to acheive an orgasm may have a genetic cause.

8 Jun 2005

Infertility far more common in overweight women

Hong Kong expert Carina Chan of the University of Hong Kong's department of obstetrics and gynaecology says overweight women are 30 percent more likely to be infertile than women of a normal weight.

6 Jun 2005

Toxic chemicals that poisoned your great-grandparents may also damage your health

New U.S. research is suggesting that chemicals can change the way genes work and that toxic chemicals that poisoned your great-grandparents may also damage your health.

5 Jun 2005

Role of toxins in inherited disease

A disease you are suffering today could be a result of your great-grandmother being exposed to an environmental toxin during pregnancy.

3 Jun 2005

Harmful chemicals may reprogram gene response to estrogen

New research shows that exposure to harmful chemicals and drugs during critical developmental periods early in life may actually "reprogram" the way certain genes respond to the female hormone estrogen. This genetic reprogramming may determine whether people with a genetic predisposition for a disease actually develop the disease.

1 Jun 2005

New information on reproductive health in St Petersburg

Abortions are still very common in St Petersburg, as is the use of unreliable contraceptives, despite the fact that sexual education reaches out to young people better than before. The social change is especially evident from the active sexual behaviour among young men.

1 Jun 2005

Environment factors can interact with genetics to increase disease risk

31 May 2005

Baby boy is first successful birth in Canada from frozen eggs

McGill University Health Center (MUHC) in Montreal yesterday announced the first successful birth in Canada resulting from frozen eggs. A healthy baby boy, weighing 3740 grams was born on April 29 to a 26-year-old mother who had suffered from infertility for two years.

31 May 2005

A new technique might allow women diagnosed with cancer the opportunity to have children when chemotherapy and radiation treatments rob them of their fertility

Freezing eggs is one thing; thawing them safely so they can lead to pregnancy is the challenge. In the past, efforts to freeze a woman's eggs, or oocytes, have not worked well because the cells are large. When the egg is thawed, ice crystals cause damage that prevents the egg from being fertilized.

29 May 2005

IVF treatment less effective in women living with a smoker

According to Canadian study passive smoking is apparently as damaging to a woman’s chances of having successful fertility treatment as being a smoker.

26 May 2005

The National Infertility Association joins infertility groups to Support Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act

The National Infertility Association joins with the American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) and the American Fertility Association in support of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act, HR 810.

23 May 2005

Major step forward in stem cell research

Newcastle University (England) scientists have taken a major step forward in stem cell research, putting Britain in the vanguard of technology that could produce treatments for a range of conditions such as diabetes, Parkinson’s disease and spinal injuries.

23 May 2005

Discovery may lead to new drugs to treat cancer, control fertility

A recent discovery in cellular biology may allow scientists to enhance organ regeneration by stem cells, prevent the progression of cancer, and control fertility.

22 May 2005

Crucial to develop set of protections for women who donate eggs to stem cell research

Now that stem cell researchers have devised an efficient way of creating new human embryonic stem cell lines, biomedical ethicists at the Stanford University School of Medicine say it's crucial to develop a unique set of protections for the women who donate their eggs to make the research possible.

20 May 2005

Metabolic syndrome linked to testosterone deficiency

Among men studied, those with a history of diabetes, hypertension or hyperlipidemia have a higher prevalence of hypogonadism, according to new research issued today at the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) Fourteenth Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress.

18 May 2005