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Prenatal biochemical screening only detects half of chromosomal abnormalities

Prenatal biochemical screening tests are widely used to look for chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus which can lead to serious handicap, or even death during gestation or in the first few days after birth. But these tests are only able to detect fewer than half of the total chromosomal abnormalities in the fetus, a scientist will tell the annual conference of the European Society of Human Genetics tomorrow (Monday 2 June) Dr. Francesca R. Grati, of the TOMA Laboratory, Busto Arsizio, Italy, says that these findings mean that women should be better informed on the limitations of such diagnostic tests.

1 Jun 2008

Children should drink milk to help prevent osteoporosis

For generations children have been urged to drink milk for strong. healthy bones and teeth. New research from Southampton, UK, announced today (26 May) is taking this a step further, showing the link between drinking mild and reducing the risk of osteoporosis in later life.

26 May 2008

Child's sex is associated with the mother's diet

New research by the Universities of Exeter and Oxford provides the first evidence that a child's sex is associated with the mother's diet. Published today (23 April 2008), in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, the study shows a clear link between higher energy intake around the time of conception and the birth of sons.

22 Apr 2008

Preterm birth associated with diminished long-term survival, reproduction

An analysis of births in Norway found that persons born preterm had an increased risk of death throughout childhood and lower rates of reproduction in adulthood, compared to persons born at term, according to a study in the March 26 issue of JAMA.

26 Mar 2008

Low levels of dietary folate linked to sperm abnormalities

Healthy men who report lower levels of the nutrient folate in their diets have higher rates of chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm, according to a new study by researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

20 Mar 2008

Levels of folate in men's diets is linked to chromosomal abnormalities in their sperm

Researchers have found an association between a vitamin found in leafy green vegetables, fruit and pulses [1] and levels of chromosomal abnormalities in men's sperm.

20 Mar 2008

Chikungunya virus appears seldom to harm infants of mothers infected early in pregnancy

Chikungunya virus, an infectious agent transmitted by mosquitoes, appears seldom to harm infants of mothers infected early in pregnancy, but can frequently cause serious problems, including lasting brain injury, in babies born to mothers who acquire the virus near the time of delivery, according to a study in PLoS Medicine.

18 Mar 2008

Genetic mutations involved in IGF-I signaling pathway influence life span

Mutations in genes governing an important cell-signaling pathway influence human longevity, scientists at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found.

6 Mar 2008

Guidelines for von Willebrand disease diagnosis and management

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health today issued the first clinical guidelines in the United States for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand Disease (VWD), the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

4 Mar 2008

New guidelines for von Willebrand disease

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, has issued the first clinical guidelines in the United States for the diagnosis and management of von Willebrand Disease (VWD), the most common inherited bleeding disorder.

1 Mar 2008

25% of HIV infected women want to become pregnant

About one in four women who have tested positive for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) expect pregnancy and motherhood to be a part of their future, recent research suggests.

26 Feb 2008

Infertility is a growing problem

Infertility will become more prevalent in generations to come, but interpreting these trends is complicated, say researchers in this week's BMJ.

17 Feb 2008

Evolving complexity out of junk DNA

The study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, USA, claims to have solved this scientific riddle by analysing the genomics of primitive living fishes such as sharks and lampreys and their spineless relatives, such as the sea squirts.

12 Feb 2008

Women and smoking

A study carried out at the Department of Anthropology of the University of Granada has examined, both at a quantitative and a qualitative level, the reasons for the increase in the use of cigarettes among women experienced in Spanish society during the last 50 years.

8 Feb 2008

Researchers can now determine when a human was born by radiocarbon dating of the human eye lens

Using the radiocarbon dating method and special proteins in the lens of the eye, researchers at the University of Copenhagen and Aarhus can now establish, with relatively high precision, when a person was born.

30 Jan 2008

Boston IVF to offer test of women's biological clock in the northeast

Boston IVF has announced it will be the first IVF center in the northeast to offer Repromedix's Plan Ahead test, an innovative blood test that provides an assessment of a woman's egg supply by combining multiple factors including the measurement of ovary-related hormones AMH, Inhibin B, and FSH.

22 Jan 2008

New research may shed light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules

Proteins, the biological molecules involved in virtually every action of every organism, may themselves move in surprising ways, according to a recent study from the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory that may shed new light on how proteins interact with drugs and other small molecules.

16 Jan 2008

New folic acid seal helps women choose enriched grain foods to help prevent birth defects

Not enough American women understand that consuming the B vitamin folic acid every day can help prevent serious birth defects, and only 40 percent are taking daily multivitamin supplements containing this essential nutrient beginning before pregnancy, two recent surveys show.

14 Jan 2008

Pregnant women who are overweight/obese set the stage for offspring's obesity risk

The number of overweight and obese Americans continues to grow rapidly. Today, 50 percent of adults are overweight and up to 20 percent are obese. While the number of overweight/obese children is at an all time high, the steady increase of overweight infants -- individuals under 11 months old -- is alarming.

4 Jan 2008

Likelihood of falling pregnant steadily decreases the fatter a woman is

A new study of obesity and the probability of pregnancy has shown that a woman's chances of a spontaneous pregnancy steadily decrease the fatter she is.

13 Dec 2007