Fertilization News and Research

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MDC researchers provide new insights on embryonic heart development

When it first starts to develop, the heart is a simple tube. Reporting in the journal Nature Communications, researchers at MDC have now described how it forms itself into a its characteristic S-shape and how the ventricles and atria finally develop.

4 Jun 2018

Mapping the Genes Responsible for Pluripotency

Dr. Atilgan Yilmaz and his team have developed a method by which they can produce haploid human embryonic stem cells from oocytes. They combined this technique with CRISPR-Cas9 to generate an atlas of the genome, containing the functions of over 18,000 genes.

23 May 2018

Acupuncture does not increase the chance of IVF success find researchers

According to latest research, acupuncture does not increase the chances of success with in vitro fertilization (IVF). It is a latest trend among many IVF clinics – providing acupuncture as an additional treatment along with IVF for increasing chances of success.

16 May 2018

Study identifies critical role of protein in sperm tail development

The group led by ICREA Research Professor Cayetano Gonzalez at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine, in collaboration with Giuliano Callaini's team at the University of Siena in Italy, has published a study in The Journal of Cell Biology that identifies the critical role played by a protein called CENTROBIN in sperm tail development.

11 May 2018

Taurine deficiency in sperm linked to male infertility

Sperm are highly specialized cells adapted to achieve a single goal: fertilize an egg. Along the road to fertilization sperm must embark on a lengthy journey to the female oviduct, avoiding several fatal stresses that occur when they pass through different physiological environments.

11 May 2018

Cell lineage is not pre-determined, finds new study

Scientists have mapped the developmental trajectories of more than 40,000 individual cells and found that cell fates are determined much later than previously thought.

27 Apr 2018

Advances in genetic testing give new insights to parents of children with epileptic encephalopathy

Advances in genetic testing offer new insights to parents who have a child with a rare but serious form of epilepsy, epileptic encephalopathy (EE), found in one of about every 2,000 births and characterized by developmental disabilities as well as horrible seizures.

26 Apr 2018

Preantral zinc deficiency may affect fertility months

An estimated 10 percent of couples in the U.S. struggle with infertility. While a variety of factors can make it difficult for some people to get pregnant, ovulation disorders are a leading cause of female infertility.

24 Apr 2018

A potential "male pill" without side effects

A new study published today in the journal PLOS ONE details how a compound called EP055 binds to sperm proteins to significantly slow the overall mobility of the sperm without affecting hormones, making EP055 a potential "male pill" without side effects.

20 Apr 2018

Researchers discover unique protein in malaria parasite that could be new drug target

Over a thousand people die from malaria every day. The disease is caused by a single-cell parasite (protozoan) that is transmitted by mosquitoes. Anti-malaria efforts currently focus on effective diagnostics, mosquito nets, insecticides and drugs.

18 Apr 2018

Home-based semen analysis kit could provide rapid, cost-effective way to test male fertility

It is estimated that of the 70 million cases of infertility worldwide, almost half are caused by factors relating to the male partner. A number of semen parameters – motility, morphology, velocity, volume, concentration, and count – affect male fertility.

28 Feb 2018

Scientists identify four viruses that can produce insulin-like hormones

Every cell in your body responds to the hormone insulin, and if that process starts to fail, you get diabetes. In an unexpected finding, scientists at Joslin Diabetes Center have identified four viruses that can produce insulin-like hormones that are active on human cells.

19 Feb 2018