Embryo News and Research

RSS

Research reveals genetic conversation between X and Y chromosomes

In the week that the University of Leicester celebrates the 25th anniversary of the discovery of DNA fingerprinting (Thursday September 10) new findings from the world-renowned University of Leicester Department of Genetics reveal for the first time that the male and female do truly communicate -at least at the fundamental genetic level.

10 Sep 2009

80 percent residents aware of family building options: RESOLVE survey

According to a recent survey conducted by RESOLVE: The National Infertility Association (RESOLVE), Washington, D.C. metro-area residents are highly aware of various family building options due to a patient’s infertility diagnosis, such as medical treatment, adoption and surrogacy.

10 Sep 2009

Researchers demystify polar body analysis reproduction technique

Three out of ten women who undergo polar body diagnosis go on to have a child. The extensive technique of polar body analysis (PBA) is described by researchers in reproductive medicine at Lübeck in an article in the current edition of Deutsches Ärtzeblatt International, in which they present three successful cases and one failure.

31 Aug 2009

Sigma-Aldrich scientists to leverage proprietary gene editing technology to develop genetically-engineered rodent research models

Sigma-Aldrich(R) (Nasdaq: SIAL) announced today that scientists at its new Sigma Advanced Genetic Engineering (SAGE(TM)) Labs in St. Louis will leverage its exclusive CompoZr(TM) Zinc Finger Nuclease (ZFN) gene editing technology (www.compozrzfn.com) to define, develop and offer a new generation of genetically-engineered rodent research models. Such models are commonly used to study disease states in humans and play a key role in the drug discovery process.

24 Aug 2009

Primary cilia can suppress or promote skin cancer

Tiny, solitary spikes that stick out of nearly every cell in the body play a central role in a type of skin cancer, new research has found. The discovery in mice shows that the microscopic structures known as primary cilia can either suppress or promote this skin cancer, depending on the mutation triggering the disease.

24 Aug 2009

Coping with burn injuries

More than half a million Americans are treated for burn injuries every year, but many do not have the specific skills necessary to cope with the experience of living with a burn injury after they leave the hospital.

20 Aug 2009

$3.2M grant to explore how chemicals affect human health

Most people would agree that arsenic, lead, mercury, benzene and carbon monoxide pose dangers to humans. Not many, though, realize that the average person is exposed to about 10,000 different chemicals per day.

12 Aug 2009

Iowa funds swine vaccine research

A grant from a state economic development fund will help Iowa State University researchers develop and evaluate a vaccine designed to protect swine from novel H1N1 and other strains of influenza.

5 Aug 2009

Discovery of mechanism that protects somatic cells against the behaviour of germ cells

An IRB Barcelona research team discovers the mechanism that favors the correct separation of germ cells -- future ovules and sperm -- from the rest of the cells during embryonic development

3 Aug 2009

Discovery of unique 'DNA signature' in human sperm - unlocks egg's fertility

Drs David Miller and David Iles from the University of Leeds, in collaboration with Dr Martin Brinkworth at the University of Bradford, have found that sperm writes a DNA signature that can only be recognised by an egg from the same species. This enables fertilisation and may even explain how a species develops its own unique genetic identity.

3 Aug 2009

Research builds on previous Par-4 study that produced cancer-resistant mouse

Human cells are able to secrete a cancer-killing protein, scientists at the University of Kentucky's Markey Cancer Center have found.

26 Jul 2009

Discovery of key gene for bone development that when mutated lead to dwarfism

Scientists have just discovered the gene behind Recessive Omodysplasia, a rare skeletal disease characterised by short-limbed dwarfism and craniofacial anomalies.

9 Jul 2009

Research may hold key to maintaining embryonic stem cells in lab

In a new study that could transform embryonic stem cell (ES cell) research, scientists at UT Southwestern Medical Center have discovered why mouse ES cells can be easily grown in a laboratory while other mammalian ES cells are difficult, if not impossible, to maintain.

9 Jul 2009

Family Research Council President says NIH stem cell guidelines ethically irresponsible

Today, Family Research Council President Tony Perkins responded to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) guidelines implementing President Obama's executive order for federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research (ESCR). President Obama's order and the NIH guidelines remove life-protecting limits on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research.

7 Jul 2009

Obama administration releases final rules on stem cell research

The Obama administration released final regulations governing stem cell research on Monday. The New York Times reports that the rules will allow many older stem cell lines to be eligible for federally financed research.

7 Jul 2009

MicroRNAs hold promise for treating diseases in blood vessels

A newly discovered mechanism controls whether muscle cells in blood vessels hasten the development of both atherosclerosis and Alzheimer's disease, according to an article published online today in the journal Nature.

5 Jul 2009

Bioethicists lead call for public debates on future uses of stem cells

More than 40 scientists, bioethicists, lawyers and science journal editors are calling on their colleagues, policy makers and the public to begin developing guidelines for the research and reproductive use of stem cell-derived eggs and sperm, even though such use may be a decade or more away.

2 Jul 2009

Reduced ovarian reserve is associated with an increased risk of trisomic pregnancy

Women who have a diminished number of eggs in their ovaries, either because they are older or for some other reason such as ovarian surgery, may be more at risk of a trisomic pregnancy than women with an ovarian reserve within the normal, fertile range.

30 Jun 2009

New test detects genetic and chromosomal abnormalities in embryos - ready for clinical trials

One-step screening for both genetic and chromosomal abnormalities has come a stage closer as scientists announced that an embryo test they have been developing has successfully screened cells taken from spare embryos that were known to have cystic fibrosis.

30 Jun 2009

Women with cystic fibrosis can have safe and successful fertility treatment

Women with cystic fibrosis can have fertility treatment to help them have babies without any long-term adverse effects on either themselves or their children, according to new research presented at the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam today (Tuesday).

30 Jun 2009