Embryology News and Research

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Embryology is the study of the development of an embryo. An embryo is defined as any organism in an early stage well before birth or hatching, or in plants, before germination occurs.

Better test to predict menopause on the horizon

With the rise of many women delaying when they have a baby until they are older researchers are developing a test that can now tell a woman in her twenties how long she has left to start a family.

28 Jun 2010

New path involving "innocent spectators" to defeat systemic sclerosis

There is a new path to defeat systemic sclerosis, also called scleroderma because of the hardening of the skin of the patients (from Greek skleros, "hard", and derma, "skin"). This path involves the B-cell of the immune system, so far only considered "innocent spectators," as Catholic University rheumatologist Gianfranco Ferraccioli, among the authors of the important research, puts it.

14 Jun 2010

In vitro fertilization ups the risk of birth defects: study

Researchers have found from a large scale study that in vitro fertilization of IVF is associated with an increased risk of birth defects in the baby. They urge doctors treating patients with infertility to routinely warn them about these risks. The study involved 33 centers for IVF in France and covered over 15,000 births from 2003 to 2007. This study is the largest till date.

14 Jun 2010

CGH, FISH techniques effective for postmortem analysis of fetuses, infants with congenital anomalies

New techniques to detect chromosomal abnormalities can offer a higher degree of accuracy. Chromosomal abnormalities are a well-known cause of multiple congenital anomalies, and conventional methods of culture analysis have proven unsuccessful in 10% to 40% of cases. Comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) techniques were tested and found successful by analyzing tissue from children who had multiple congenital anomalies.

9 Jun 2010

European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology 2010 meeting set for June 27-30 in Rome, Italy

New research findings from fertility experts from Europe, the Americas, Asia & Australasia

31 May 2010

New technique may improve treatments for heart disease

Spanish researchers have employed for the first time adult cells extracted from a human heart to turn stem cells from adipose tissue into cardiac myocytes. In other words, they achieved to "reprogram" adult stem cells, which might improve treatments for heart disease therapeutical.

21 May 2010

Sex may become ‘old news’ when it comes to having babies says Australian scientist

According to researchers most couples over 30 will rely more on artificial methods to conceive. This prediction comes from John Yovich, Medical Director of Pivet Medical Centre, and a scientist acknowledged for his pioneering work in IVF, who calls human natural reproduction “a fairly inefficient process.”

18 May 2010

Cash crisis for infertility treatment prompting couples to go for multiple embryo implantations

With the rise in costs for fertility treatments, more and more Australian women are requesting their specialists to implant more than one embryo in their wombs. This is resulting in a rise in twin and triplet births.

3 May 2010

Reluctant Australian sperm donors forces fertility clinics to import from U.S.

With the shortage of sperm donors the Queensland Fertility Group, the largest fertility facility in Townsville has resorted to importing sperm from United States. This facility, some 1,300 Kilometers from Brisbane is reportedly paying $700-800 an ampule for the imported sperm. This is a new situation. Earlier the facility had a large number of donors of which a huge number were the university students but there has been a steady decline in donors with many north Queensland men, or even Australian men who are not prepared to donate.

27 Apr 2010

Increase in number of mistakes made at fertility clinics

For many couples IVF is the last hope they have of having a baby and with some IVF clinics committing such blunders as implanting the wrong embryos or fertilizing the egg with the wrong man’s sperm, these hope can soon turn into a nightmare.

26 Apr 2010

MUC1 expression indicates progression of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease

Millions of people are afflicted with inflammatory bowel diseases, such as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, and 30 percent of new cases occur in childhood. Mucin 1, an epithelial mucin that has been shown to elicit both an immune response and to have altered glycosylation in disease, may be a noninvasive indicator of the progression of these illnesses.

20 Apr 2010

First authoritative book on yawning

Yawning is a stereotyped phylogenetically ancient phenomenon that occurs in almost all vertebrates. As an emotional behavior and an expressive movement, yawning has many consequences; nevertheless, it has so far been poorly addressed in medical research and practice.

19 Apr 2010

eSET program produces high pregnancy rates, minimizes multiple pregnancy risks

Every year thousand of families are created with the assistance of in-vitro fertilization. Many of those newborns are twins. While some may see this as a double blessing, it is important to understand that there are many potential risks associated with multiple gestation.

16 Apr 2010

Embryos with two mums to remove the risk of hereditary diseases: new research

New research published in the journal Nature, could pave the way to world’s first genetically modified human baby. The research involves making embryos with genes from one man and two women. There are hundreds or families around the world who are left childless or have serious ill babies because they carry genes for hereditary illnesses. This research may bring hope to such couples. According to scientists on the team, within the next three years these women will be able to avail such techniques. There has been skepticism regarding ethical issues attached to making of “designer babies”.

16 Apr 2010

Gene causing progressive form of hair loss identified

A team of investigators from Columbia, Rockefeller and Stanford Universities has identified a new gene involved in hair growth, as reported in a paper in the April 15 issue of Nature. This discovery may affect future research and treatments for male pattern baldness and other forms of hair loss.

15 Apr 2010

New push to encourage sperm donation

A critical shortage in the sperm available in IVF clinics has forced some of them to launch online advertising campaigns to encourage sperm donation. The campaign is targeting sports and finance websites which have a larger male readership. Ad tag lines like "you've got millions to spare, we only need one" and "a donation to us won't save a life; hopefully it will create one" are hoping to appeal to the generosity of the adult male.

12 Apr 2010

Research may help scientists understand the mechanism behind cellular differentiation

Multipotent stem cells have the capacity to develop into different types of cells by reprogramming their DNA to turn on different combinations of genes, a process called "differentiation."

6 Apr 2010

Fertility industry offers big money to recruit “desirable” egg donors at top universities

Many egg donation agencies and private couples routinely exceed compensation recommendation limits for potential donors, a new study finds.

25 Mar 2010

ATS releases new clinical policy statement on CCHS

The American Thoracic Society has released a new official clinical policy statement on congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS), a disorder of respiratory and autonomic nervous system (ANS) regulation. The ANS regulates reflexive acts, including heart rate and blood pressure, digestion, body temperature and pain perception.

15 Mar 2010

Bioethics expert: Parents should be allowed to use selective reproduction in choosing future child's gender

A bioethics expert has argued that parents should be allowed to use selective reproduction to choose their future child's gender and to screen out serious disease and disability.

27 Feb 2010