Fertility News and Research

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First in-depth analysis of primate ovarian aging at single-cell resolution

Due to the modern tendency to postpone childbirth until later in life, a growing number of women are experiencing issues with infertility.

30 Jan 2020

New MRI tool can distinguish between malignant and benign ovarian cysts with 90% accuracy

Researchers have developed a new MRI tool that can identify cases of ovarian cancer which are difficult to diagnose using standard methods.

30 Jan 2020

Conceived through ‘fertility fraud,’ she now needs fertility treatment

When Heather Woock was in her late 20s, she started researching her family history. As part of the project, she spit into a tube and sent it to Ancestry, a consumer DNA testing service. Then, in 2017, she started getting messages about the results from people who said they could be half siblings.

28 Jan 2020

Pilot study highlights the effect of chemotherapy on male fertility

A pilot study conducted by INRS researchers highlights the effect of chemotherapy on male fertility before and after puberty.

22 Jan 2020

Men in the UK could be allowed to donate sperm after death

A new analysis concludes that sperm donations taken from men after death are morally permissible.

22 Jan 2020

Debate continues over donor sperm from deceased men

A new article published in the Journal of Medical Ethics continues to defend the concept of sperm donation from dead men, in order to improve sperm quality, and quantity. This would go far in addressing the current deficiency of donor sperm.

21 Jan 2020

Fish oil supplements could benefit testicular function in healthy men finds study

A large Danish study has shown that fish oil supplements taken by healthy men of the reproductive age could help improve their testicular function as is evidenced by their semen quality and reproductive hormone levels. The study led by researcher Tina Kodd Jensen, titled, “Associations of Fish Oil Supplement Use With Testicular Function in Young Men,” was published this week in the latest issue of the JAMA.

19 Jan 2020

Microbiomes may have considerable impact on animal fertility and reproduction

It is an awkward idea, but a couple's ability to have kids may partly depend on who else is present. The reproductive tracts of males and females contain whole communities of micro-organisms.

17 Jan 2020

"Jumping genes" within eggs determine their survival

Females are born with a finite supply of eggs and with age the genetic quality of the eggs decline say researchers from Carnegie Institute. The study from researchers Marla Tharp, Safia Malki, and Alex Bortvin was published in the latest issue of Nature Communications. The study was titled, “Maximizing the ovarian reserve in mice by evading LINE-1 genotoxicity.”

16 Jan 2020

Research shows how the body tries to eliminate egg cells of poorest quality

A woman's supply of eggs is finite, so it is crucial that the quality of their genetic material is ensured. New work from Carnegie's Marla Tharp, Safia Malki, and Alex Bortvin elucidates a mechanism by which, even before birth, the body tries to eliminate egg cells of the poorest quality.

16 Jan 2020

Women who have more sex less likely to have early menopause

Women who have sex more are at a reduced risk of experiencing early menopause, a new study found. The new finding raises the possibility of lifestyle practices as a predictor of when menopause will occur.

15 Jan 2020

American women drinking more, and dying much more often, as a result

A new study released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism reports a horrifying 85% increase in deaths among women related to the use of alcohol. To put this in concrete terms, about 7,600 women died this way in 1999, but 18 years later, in 2017, the number was over 18,000. Not only is alcohol claiming the lives of more women, but women tend to be harmed more by this substance, in the form of higher rates of cancer and heart disease.

13 Jan 2020

First-ever genomic analysis of puberty yields insights into critical areas of human health

In the first-ever genome-scale analysis of the puberty process in humans, researchers at Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah outline distinct and critical changes to stem cells in males during adolescence.

9 Jan 2020

New study finds zinc and folic acid supplements are ineffective at improving male fertility

A study has revealed that taking zinc and folic acid supplements do not improve male fertility as has previously been suspected.

8 Jan 2020

Report highlights steady 26-year decline in overall cancer mortality

The cancer death rate declined by 29% from 1991 to 2017, including a 2.2% drop from 2016 to 2017, the largest single-year drop in cancer mortality ever reported.

8 Jan 2020

Zinc and folic acid supplements fail to improve fertility in men

Zinc and folic acid, a pair of dietary supplements long touted as an effective treatment for male infertility, failed to improve pregnancy rates, sperm counts, and sperm potency in a new study conducted at University of Utah Health and other medical centers in conjunction with the National Institutes of Health.

7 Jan 2020

Scientists map the location of structural proteins in pig ovary for the first time

For the first time, scientists identified and mapped the location of structural proteins in a pig ovary. Ongoing development of an "ink" with these proteins will be used for 3-D printing an artificial (or bio-prosthetic) ovary that could be implanted and allow a woman to have a child.

6 Jan 2020

Common plasticizer leads to fertility problems in roundworms

A new study published 9th January in PLOS Genetics by Mónica Colaiácovo of Harvard Medical School and colleagues reports that the most commonly used plasticizer, diethylhexyl phthalate, leads to fertility problems by causing an excess number of breaks in the DNA during egg production, and then interfering with the repair systems that fixes the breaks.

2 Jan 2020

Consumers feel empowered and confused by direct-to-consumer fertility tests, study reveals

Direct-to-consumer hormone-based "fertility testing" for women is viewed by consumers as both an alternative, empowering tool for family planning, and a confusing and misleading one, according to the results of a new study from Penn Medicine.

30 Dec 2019

Study reveals rapid effects of diet on sperm quality

Sperm are influenced by diet, and the effects arise rapidly. This is the conclusion of a study by researchers at Linköping University, in which healthy young men were fed a diet rich in sugar.

28 Dec 2019