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Researchers capture the electrical activity of a single sperm cell

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have, for the first time, captured the electrical activity of a single sperm cell. The technically difficult maneuver, reported in Nature, allows the first measurement of the currents that flow across the sperm's outer membrane.

14 Feb 2006

New understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization

A new paper in the February 15th issue of Genes & Development lends novel insight into the cellular changes that occur in sperm while they reside in the female reproductive tract - providing a new understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization.

14 Feb 2006

Contraceptive pills do not lead to major weight gain

Many women and clinicians worry that taking combination hormonal contraceptives will result in weight gain.

25 Jan 2006

Armpit odour can make apparent women’s fertility

Research published in the recent issue of Ethology has discovered that men are able to potentially use smell as a mechanism to establish when their current or prospective sexual partners are at their most fertile.

16 Jan 2006

Research indicates birth control pill could cause long-term problems with testosterone

In the January issue of The Journal of Sexual Medicine, researchers have published a new investigation measuring sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) before and after discontinuation of the oral contraceptive pill.

6 Jan 2006

Abstinence and Abstinence-Only Education: A Review of U.S. Policies and Programs

While few Americans remain abstinent until marriage and most initiate sexual intercourse as adolescents, abstinence from sexual intercourse is an important behavioral strategy for preventing human immunodeficiency virus, other sexually transmitted infections, and unintended pregnancy among adolescents

5 Jan 2006

New research indicates birth control pill could cause long-term problems with testosterone

4 Jan 2006

Women suffering lupus OK to take oral contraceptives

Major study of women with either inactive or stable systemic lupus erythematosus (lupus) – a disease in which the body's immune system mistakenly attacks and damages healthy tissues of the skin, joints and internal organs – were able to take oral contraceptives without increased risk of flares, or periods of increased disease activity, that characterize the disease.

22 Dec 2005

Passengers face DVT danger in cars, trains and buses too

A report commissioned by the Department for Transport to determine the risk of deep vein thrombosis in relation to air travel, has found that as previously suspected, the longer the period of air travel, the greater the risk.

22 Dec 2005

Lupus patients safe to go back on the pill

Two new studies confirm that women who suffer from lupus, a chronic disease that can lead to inflamed kidneys, can safely take oral contraceptives without fear that the pill will worsen their condition.

19 Dec 2005

Perimenopause critical for preventing heart disease and osteoporosis

Research in monkeys suggests that the perimenopause - the five to 10 years before a woman's menopause - is a critical time for preventing heart disease and osteoporosis.

13 Dec 2005

Buttock injections do not provide proper dose

Women may not be getting the most out of vaccines and other injections, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

7 Dec 2005

Pharmacists in disagreement over law on morning-after pill

A recent survey of pharmacists in the United States has revealed that as many as 39 percent of respondents are against state laws that would require them to fill prescriptions for emergency contraception known as the morning-after pill.

6 Dec 2005

Taking HRT before the menopause may prevent heart disease

According to American researcher Jay Kaplan, taking the "Pill" before the menopause or starting hormone replacement therapy before menopausal symptoms begin could actually help prevent heart disease in women.

6 Dec 2005

Fast-tracked screening for Chlamydia in UK

Young women asking for the morning-after pill at pharmacies will be offered fast-tracked screening for Chlamydia, the UK's most common sexually transmitted infection, in a University of Manchester study.

From The University of Manchester 2 Dec 2005

Young women asking for the morning-after pill at UK pharmacies will be offered fast-tracked screening for Chlamydia

It is thought that up to one in ten young people under 25 have Chlamydia, a sexually transmitted infection that often has no symptoms and can lead to infertility, although it is very easily treated with just one dose of four tablets in the majority of cases.

From The University of Manchester 30 Nov 2005

Family doctor will pick up women's health post at FDA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has chosen a family doctor to lead its women's health office.

21 Nov 2005

Being a D cup at 20 could mean breast cancer at 40

According to researchers, women with a large bra size at a young age are more likely to develop pre-menopausal breast cancer.

21 Nov 2005

Sperm stem cells research provides exciting findings

New experiments that prevented rat sperm stem cells from changing permanently into sperm have brought researchers one step closer to coaxing such cells to behave like embryonic stem cells, capable of growing into many other types of cells in the body.

20 Nov 2005

Row over Plan B unearths suspicion of political manipulation

Congressional investigators are saying there is a suspicion that senior U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officials may have decided to reject a politically sensitive request for over-the-counter sales of a "morning-after" contraceptive months before agency scientists finished reviewing the scientific data.

16 Nov 2005