Fertilization News and Research

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Researcher identifies genetic mutation responsible for adermatoglyphia

Like DNA, fingerprints are unique to each person or set of identical twins. That makes them a valuable identification tool for everything from crime detection to international travel. But what happens when the tips of our fingers are missing those distinctive patterns of ridges?

19 Sep 2011

Ariz. abortion curbs go into effect; Miss. voters consider plan to limit abortions

Planned Parenthood of Arizona will not appeal a state-court ruling that allows this 2009 measure to take effect.

14 Sep 2011

Cook Medical introduces Otrieva Tapered Ovum Aspiration Needle

A new needle for ovum collection is now available to reproductive endocrinologists and embryologists: the Otrieva Tapered Ovum Aspiration Needle, which Cook Medical launches today. The Otrieva needle features a tapering process that results in a consistent bevel designed to allow precise ovum collection and less pain and bleeding during aspiration, as clinical studies of similar devices have demonstrated.

12 Sep 2011

Mayo Clinic develops genome-based immunization strategy against feline AIDS

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a genome-based immunization strategy to fight feline AIDS and illuminate ways to combat human HIV/AIDS and other diseases. The goal is to create cats with intrinsic immunity to the feline AIDS virus. The findings -- called fascinating and landmark by one reviewer -- appear in the current online issue of Nature Methods.

12 Sep 2011

Dad's stress can affect unborn children

Does Dad's stress affect his unborn children? According to the results of a new study in Elsevier's Biological Psychiatry, it seems the answer may be "yes, but it's complicated".

31 Aug 2011

New fertilized cells narrowly avoid degenerating into fatal chaos

Research based at Princeton University has revealed that newly fertilized cells only narrowly avoid degenerating into fatal chaos. At the same time, scientists have discovered that embryos have acquired a mechanism to contain this dangerous instability, a finding that could help biologists unravel other mysteries about the first hours of life.

24 Aug 2011

Scientists uncover how human egg captures sperm to begin fertilisation process

Researchers have uncovered exactly how a human egg captures an incoming sperm to begin the fertilisation process, in a new study published this week in the journal Science.

19 Aug 2011

Test for ticking biological clock

Researchers from St Andrews University, Scotland have been able to chart the levels of a vital fertility hormone in women of different ages thus essentially detect their biological clocks.

9 Aug 2011

Humans and zebrafish share mechanisms that regulate the circadian system

Circadian rhythms - the natural cycle that dictates our biological processes over a 24-hour day - does more than tell us when to sleep or wake. Disruptions in the cycle are also associated with depression, problems with weight control, jet lag and more. Now Prof. Yoav Gothilf of Tel Aviv University's Department of Neurobiology at the George S. Wise Faculty of Life Sciences is looking to the common zebrafish to learn more about how the human circadian system functions.

21 Jul 2011

Novel approach to prevent ‘chemo’ induced menopause in breast cancer patients

It is known that women who undergo chemotherapy for breast cancer get an early menopause under age 40. Women can choose to have some eggs removed in advance of the treatment in order to preserve some chance of having a baby later, but that can be a difficult and complicated process. Now, however, there may be a medication to treat these women to avoid premature menopause. About 6% of women with breast cancer are diagnosed before age 40.

20 Jul 2011

Northeast Assisted Fertility Group extends egg donation, surrogacy program

The Northeast Assisted Fertility Group (NAFG), already among the leading surrogacy and egg donation programs in the United States, is pleased to announce its enhanced International Program, extending a more complete menu of services to citizens of England, France, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Germany, Australia, and other countries where the practice of egg donation and surrogacy is restricted or very limited.

20 Jul 2011

New strategy may combat age-associated infertility and birth defects

A strategy that has been shown to reduce age-related health problems in several animal studies may also combat a major cause of age-associated infertility and birth defects.

8 Jul 2011

Cumulus cells can provide information about genetic and chromosomal status of eggs

At present, when a woman undergoes preimplantation genetic screening (PGS) in a fertility clinic, doctors are trying to select an egg or an embryo that is healthy and doesn't have a chromosome abnormality such as an extra copy of chromosome 21, which causes Down's syndrome. In order to establish this, they either have to biopsy a part of the egg called the polar body or remove a cell from the embryo for screening. Both procedures are expensive, invasive and can damage the egg or embryo.

6 Jul 2011

EIM collects data on frozen oocyte retrieval cycles for the first time

Other important data the European IVF Monitoring group (EIM) on 2008 cycles and the International Committee Monitoring Assisted Reproductive Technologies (ICMART) on 2007 cycles highlighted were Sweden's low rate of multiple births - the lowest in the world - and Spain's 30 % share of egg donations in Europe.

6 Jul 2011

Cleavage stage embryo with aneuploidy can undergo genetic normalisation process

Professor William G. Kearns told the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology that a three-day-old embryo with an incorrect number of chromosomes was capable of undergoing "a dynamic process of genetic normalisation" so that by day five, when it had developed to the blastocyst stage, it had become euploid, with the correct number of chromosomes.

5 Jul 2011

New insight into oocyte chromosome abnormalities

Ovarian stimulation undertaken by women of advanced maternal age receiving fertility treatment may be disrupting the normal pattern of meiosis - a critical process of chromosome duplication followed by two specialised cell divisions in the production of oocytes and sperm - and leading to abnormalities of chromosome copy numbers that result in IVF failure, pregnancy loss or, more rarely, the birth of affected children with conditions such as Down's syndrome, which is caused by the inheritance of three copies of chromosome 21.

4 Jul 2011

Antimullerian hormone test can help indicate number of eggs, pregnancy in women

Given how much patients invest in in vitro fertilization (IVF), both financially and emotionally, tools to inform couples about what they might expect during their treatment can be welcome. A study by researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital shows that as the IVF cycle is beginning, a blood test for levels of a hormone called AMH, or antimullerian hormone, can help predict the number of eggs that will be harvested.

10 Jun 2011

Anti-Mullerian hormone test can indicate reproductive function in young women with cancer

A test that shows how many eggs a woman has in her ovaries may help young women with breast cancer know what their reproductive function will be after chemotherapy, a new study finds. The results will be presented Sunday at The Endocrine Society's 93rd Annual Meeting in Boston.

6 Jun 2011

NHS directive to fertility clinics

NHS fertility clinics will be ordered to meet their responsibilities and provide adequate levels of IVF treatment, amid growing concerns. There are claims that a “postcode lottery” is reducing couples' chances of having a baby.

5 Jun 2011

American College of Gastroenterology offers resources on foodborne illness, tips for food safety

For consumers in the United States concerned by the outbreak of E. coli in Europe, the American College of Gastroenterology offers background on foodborne illness, tips for food safety, and expert insight from its resources on digestive health on what to do in the case of foodborne illness.

4 Jun 2011