Fertilization News and Research

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Episona unveils first innovative new male fertility test at ASRM 2016

Episona Inc., an epigenetics data company focused on improving outcomes in reproductive health, announced today the launch of Seed, an innovative new male fertility test, at the American Society for Reproductive Medicine Scientific Congress& Expo.

19 Oct 2016

Babies born to older women from assisted reproduction have fewer birth defects, research finds

Babies born to women aged 40 and over from assisted reproduction have fewer birth defects compared with those from women who conceive naturally at the same age, according to new research from the University of Adelaide.

17 Oct 2016

Researchers confirm long persistence of Zika virus in semen and reveal its presence within spermatozoa

Recent work has shown that Zika virus persists in semen for up to 6 months after infection. In a correspondence published in The Lancet Infectious Diseases, the researchers, in addition to confirming its long persistence in semen (in this case for more than 130 days, i.e., over 4 months), reveal the presence of the virus even within spermatozoa.

4 Oct 2016

Researchers use novel technique to unravel key mystery of earliest stage of development

A Ludwig Cancer Research study published online September 14th in Nature reports a novel technique to map specific chemical (or "epigenetic") modifications made to the protein packaging of DNA using a small population of cells.

20 Sep 2016

Endogenous cannabinoid plays crucial role in activating spermatozoa for fertilization

During fertilization, a sperm must first fuse with the plasma membrane and then penetrate the female egg in order to penetrate it.

30 Aug 2016

Preimplantation genetic screening using next generation sequencing: an interview with Dr Luis Alcaraz

PGS, Preimplantation Genetic Screening, is a genetic test that analyses biopsied cells from embryos produced by in vitro fertilization (IVF) techniques. PGS determines whether the embryos are chromosomally normal (euploid) or not (aneuploid), thus giving the chance to transfer chromosomally normal embryos that are more apt to successfully implant and develop into a pregnancy.

24 Aug 2016

Novel innovation could help scientists study new treatments for mitochondrial diseases

A new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences from the University of Missouri has succeeded in creating embryos with "heteroplasmy," or the presence of both maternal and paternal mitochondrial DNA.

23 Aug 2016

New study shows frozen embryo transfer safer, more successful in women with PCOS

Women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) who receive frozen embryos during in vitro fertilization have safer and more successful pregnancies than those who get fresh embryos, according to the results of a recent collaboration between Penn State College of Medicine and Chinese researchers.

10 Aug 2016

Research findings could provide framework for understanding fertilization mechanism

A Japanese research group has determined the crystal structure of the JUNO protein, an egg surface protein essential for fertilization. These structure-based mutational analyses elucidated a mechanism of the interaction between egg (JUNO protein) and sperm (IZUMO1) on a molecular level.

9 Aug 2016

New study analyzes evolution of epigenetic mechanisms from bacteria to humans

After the emergence of single-celled organisms some billions of years ago, nature started experimenting with how to diversify gene function without changing the sequence of the DNA, such that the blue print remains conserved, but allows gene products to have different functions.

4 Aug 2016

Salk scientists propose new molecular criteria for generating naïve stem cells

Salk scientists and colleagues have proposed new molecular criteria for judging just how close any line of laboratory-generated stem cells comes to mimicking embryonic cells seen in the very earliest stages of human development, known as naïve stem cells.

17 Jul 2016

IVF Spain, Bioarray to present clinical outcomes of preimplantation genetic screening using NGS

Bioarray, S.L., IVF SPAIN S.L. and iGLS will present clinical outcomes of IVF treatments with PGS by NGS, after two years providing this genetic test as part of a cooperation supported in a framework agreement.

13 Jul 2016

Study helps provide couples with reliable long-term prediction at outset of fertility treatment

Three in four women starting fertility treatment will have a baby within five years, whether as a result of the treatment or following natural conception.

4 Jul 2016

Adjunct therapy with human growth hormone in IVF shows no apparent benefit in women

Despite its occasional use as an adjunct in IVF, human growth hormone appears of little benefit to women having difficulty conceiving.

4 Jul 2016

Researchers identify set of genes that play vital role in early human development

Oxford University researchers are closer to solving a decade-old mystery after discovering that a set of genes they are studying play a key role in early human development.

29 Jun 2016

Sperm of smokers has greater extent of DNA damage than that of non-smokers

A recent study found that that sperm of men who smoke has a greater extent of DNA damage than that of non-smokers.

22 Jun 2016

Researcher aims to develop easy-to-use, inexpensive sperm sorting devices to help infertile couples

The competition is fierce and only the strongest survive the obstacle course within the female reproductive tract. Of the millions of sperm that enter the vagina, only about 10 or so make it to the oocyte or egg, demonstrating how rigorous the natural sperm selection process really is.

17 Jun 2016