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Texas abortion bill sent to full chamber

A Texas House committee approved sweeping abortion legislation early Wednesday, setting up a new fight on the proposal that would, along with other restrictions, ban abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy. The full chamber will take up the proposal early next week.

4 Jul 2013

Study: IVF treatment linked with increased risk of mental retardation

In a study that included more than 2.5 million children born in Sweden, compared with spontaneous conception, any in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment was not associated with autistic disorder but was associated with a small but statistically significantly increased risk of mental retardation, according to a study in the July 3 issue of JAMA. The authors note that the prevalence of these disorders was low, and the increase in absolute risk associated with IVF was small.

3 Jul 2013

Mixed results for acupuncture in improving IVF rates

Acupuncture, when used as a complementary or adjuvant therapy for in vitro fertilization (IVF), may be beneficial depending on the baseline pregnancy rates of a fertility clinic, according to research from the University of Maryland School of Medicine. The analysis from the University of Maryland Center for Integrative Medicine is published in the June 27 online edition of the journal Human Reproduction Update.

2 Jul 2013

UCSF researchers find that vitamin C may help stem cells, in vitro fertilization

Vitamin C affects whether genes are switched on or off inside mouse stem cells, and may thereby play a previously unknown and fundamental role in helping to guide normal development in mice, humans and other animals, a scientific team led by UC San Francisco researchers has discovered.

2 Jul 2013

House passes abortion ban after 20 weeks of pregnancy

House lawmakers Tuesday passed a nationwide ban on abortion after 20 weeks of pregnancy -- one of the most far-reaching federal bills on abortion in years. The bill, which faces long odds in the Senate and even longer odds to get the president's signature, is unlikely to ever become law.

20 Jun 2013

First Edition: June 19, 2013

Today's headlines include reports the development of the health law's online marketplaces is falling behind schedule.

19 Jun 2013

Special type of IVF may increase risk for insulin resistance among children

A special type of in vitro fertilization, or IVF, may increase the risk for insulin resistance among children conceived in this way, according to a new study from Greece. The results will be presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

18 Jun 2013

kisspeptin hormone effectively induces egg maturation during infertility treatment, shows study

The naturally occurring hormone kisspeptin effectively induces egg maturation during infertility treatment, according to a clinical in vitro fertilization (IVF) study. The results were presented Monday at The Endocrine Society's 95th Annual Meeting in San Francisco.

18 Jun 2013

Study: Stress felt by dad leaves lasting impression on his sperm

Sperm doesn't appear to forget anything. Stress felt by dad-whether as a preadolescent or adult-leaves a lasting impression on his sperm that gives sons and daughters a blunted reaction to stress, a response linked to several mental disorders.

13 Jun 2013

Rewinding the developmental state of embryonic stem cells is possible, say researchers

Scientists at the Danish Stem Cell Center, DanStem, at the University of Copenhagen have discovered that they can make embryonic stem cells regress to a stage of development where they are able to make placenta cells as well as the other fetal cells.

7 Jun 2013

Euro-Peristat project releases second European Perinatal Health Report

The European Perinatal Health Report released by the Euro-Peristat project is the most comprehensive report on the health and care of pregnant women and babies in Europe and brings together data from 2010 from 26 European Union member states, plus Iceland, Norway and Switzerland.

1 Jun 2013

Viewpoints: Medical professionals and near misses; Two tea partiers diverge on Medicaid expansion; Obamacare's 'death by a thousand cuts'

A near miss, like any error, is an opportunity to examine how mistakes are made and what changes might prevent them. Yet we have no idea how many near misses there are. Many experts feel that near-miss errors dwarf the number of known errors, a number that is already too high for comfort. (According to a 2006 report, medication errors alone injure an estimated 1.5 million patients a year.) But the instinct for most medical professionals is to keep these shameful mistakes to ourselves (Danielle Ofri, 5/28).

30 May 2013

Researchers codify age-specific probabilities of live birth after IVF with frozen eggs

Researchers from New York Medical College and the University of California Davis have for the first time codified age-specific probabilities of live birth after in vitro fertilization (IVF) with frozen eggs.

30 May 2013

Federal appeals court strikes down Arizona ban on abortions after 18 weeks of pregnancy

A federal appeals court struck down an Arizona law Tuesday that bans most abortions in that state after 18 weeks of pregnancy. The three-judge panel said the law violates a woman's constitutional right to end a pregnancy before a fetus can survive outside the womb -- typically 24 weeks.

23 May 2013

Weekend reading: Volunteers in the battle with heart disease; Psychiatry without medication; Owning your genes

Psychiatrists who take time with their patients are not the norm. It's not because others don't care. Rather the system rewards efficiency, not empathy.

17 May 2013

Research findings have important implications for developmental and cancer biology

Researchers from Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah have discovered that while the genes provided by the father arrive at fertilization pre-programmed to the state needed by the embryo, the genes provided by the mother are in a different state and must be reprogrammed to match.

10 May 2013

Good Start Genetics gets $28M loan from Capital Royalty

Good Start Genetics, Inc., an innovative molecular diagnostics company that has developed the new gold standard in carrier screening, today announced that it has closed a non-dilutive loan facility for up to $28 million of capital from Capital Royalty L.P.

8 May 2013

Viewpoints: Liberals refuse to acknowledge evidence of Oregon Medicaid study; Politics is roiling science in emergency contraception decisions

A familiar critique of liberal governance is that the results always matter less than its grand social ambitions. The latest evidence of this truth comes in the reaction to disappointing new findings from one of the most important public-policy experiments since the 1970s. A team of varsity health economists, mostly at Harvard and MIT, is studying the relationship between health outcomes and health insurance delivered by Medicaid (5/2).

4 May 2013

Scientists discover new mechanism that controls egg cell fertility

Scientists in Mainz and Aachen have discovered a new mechanism that controls egg cell fertility and that might have future therapeutic potential.

25 Apr 2013

Viewpoints: A plan for cheaper, better care; The Philly abortion trial raises questions about regulations

The four of us came together to change the conversation around how to improve health care and constrain cost growth. What we learned is that, until better care is prioritized over more care, our nation will continue to face a problem with health-care costs.

20 Apr 2013