Embryo News and Research

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New direct labeling system for oocytes, embryos

Researchers from the Department of Cell Biology, Physiology and Immunology at Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona (UAB), in collaboration with researchers from the Institute of Microelectronics of Barcelona (IMB-CNM) of the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), have developed an identification system for oocytes and embryos in which each can be individually tagged using silicone barcodes.

19 Nov 2010

Novel serum test may help diagnose early pregnancy location and outcome

Researchers may have identified a promising novel diagnostic biomarker for ectopic pregnancy, according to a study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM). In the western world, deaths from ectopic pregnancy are not common but in the developing world one in ten women who are admitted with an ectopic pregnancy die.

4 Nov 2010

Cerebral palsy risk doubles with IVF: Study

There is now evidence that rates of cerebral palsy are higher among children born via in vitro fertilization (IVF). There has been speculation that the parents’ infertility could be a reason but this new study is the first that links the procedure to the condition.

3 Nov 2010

Study finds infertility treatment does not increase risk of cerebral palsy in IVF/ICSI children

Doctors have known for some time that children born after fertility treatments such as in vitro fertilisation (IVF) or intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) are at increased risk of cerebral palsy. However, it was not known whether this risk was due to the treatment itself, the higher frequency of preterm or multiple births, or a mechanism associated with couples' underlying infertility.

3 Nov 2010

GSN closes $12M Series C financing

Gene Security Network, Inc. today announced the closing of its $12M Series C financing. The financing round was led by Sequoia Capital and included Claremont Creek Ventures, Founders Fund, and Lightspeed Venture Partners.

2 Nov 2010

Mechanism that controls embryonic development could also prevent cancer

Researchers from Mount Sinai School of Medicine have identified a mechanism controlling the function of a protein that binds to DNA during embryonic development and may function to prevent abnormal tumor growth.

29 Oct 2010

Researchers develop morpholino oligonucleotides that can turn off specific genes

Researchers at North Carolina State University have found a way to "cage" genetic off switches in such a way that they can be activated when exposed to UV light. Their technology gives scientists a more precise way to control and study gene function in localized areas of developing organisms.

29 Oct 2010

CECOLFES fertility treatment results demonstrate effectiveness of INVOcell cycle process

INVO Bioscience, Inc., a medical device company focused on treatment options for patients diagnosed with infertility, announced today that Dr. Elkin Lucena of the Columbian Fertility and Sterility Center (CECOLFES LTDA) in Bogota, Colombia presented the results of the Center's first 95 fertility treatment cycles utilizing INVO Bioscience's INVOcell for couples with fertility issues at the 66th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) in Denver.

28 Oct 2010

Examining genetic material of egg cells may inform about embryos health

Fertility procedures such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) require a couple and the doctor to place the risky bet that the multiple eggs they choose to fertilize will produce an embryo that will thrive in the uterus. Researchers cannot biopsy eggs directly because that would destroy them, but a new discovery by professors at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital could lead to new insights about how eggs develop and ultimately inform judgments about how the embryos they produce will fare. The idea is to examine the genetic material the egg cells discarded when they were first forming, to see which genes they were expressing.

26 Oct 2010

GSN initiates trial of microarray PGD on pregnancy and implantation rates in IVF

Gene Security Network (GSN) announced today that it has initiated enrollment for a prospective randomized trial in collaboration with Ferring Pharmaceuticals to evaluate the impact of GSN's advanced preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) with Parental Support™ on pregnancy and implantation rates in IVF.

25 Oct 2010

New set of guidelines for Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Screening

The European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) has published a set of guidelines for best practice Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis (PGD)/Screening (PGS) to give information and guidance to potential and existing PGD centres.

22 Oct 2010

Novel bioelectric signals can cause stem cells to trigger melanoma-like growth in pigment cells

Biologists at Tufts University School of Arts and Sciences have discovered that a change in membrane voltage in newly identified "instructor cells" can cause stem cells' descendants to trigger melanoma-like growth in pigment cells. The Tufts team also found that this metastatic transformation is due to changes in serotonin transport. The discovery could aid in the prevention and treatment of diseases like cancer and vitiligo as well as birth defects.

19 Oct 2010

ESHRE study shows advantages of CGH technique in IVF procedure

Two women taking part in the world's first controlled study of a comprehensive genetic screening test before IVF have given birth to healthy babies. The babies, twin girls born in Germany in June and a singleton boy born in Italy in September, are the first deliveries in a pilot study of comparative genomic hybridisation (CGH) by microarray, a new method of screening oocytes for IVF for a full range of chromosomal disorders.

18 Oct 2010

Births in Italy and Germany from eggs tested by CGH

15 Oct 2010

Scientists identify root cause of chromosomal errors and gene diversity

A team led by a scientist at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine has discovered a regulatory protein that influences where genetic material gets swapped between maternal and paternal chromosomes during the process of creating eggs and sperm. The findings, which shed light on the roots of chromosomal errors and gene diversity, appear in tomorrow's issue of Nature.

14 Oct 2010

Taller kids with IVF: Study

A new study has found that children born via IVF are typically taller than those born naturally. Newborn IVF babies created from a fresh embryo transferred back into the mother, also tended to be about 190g lighter than naturally conceived children.

13 Oct 2010

Incept completes first U.S. human clinical trial of SMART Start Embryo Culture System

Incept BioSystems, Inc. a privately-held biomedical device company using patented, microfluidic technology developed at the University of Michigan, announced today the completion of the first U.S. human clinical trial of its proprietary, SMART Start Embryo Culture System, and the recent submission of a 510(k) application to the U.S. Food & Drug Administration.

13 Oct 2010

Baby born from 20 year old frozen embryo

A 42 year old mother gave birth to a baby born from an embryo frozen 20 years ago. This is the longest time a fertilized egg has been stored before developing into a healthy baby, and could eventually lead to thousands of women having children in middle age feel experts.

11 Oct 2010

European infertility patients are limited in choice for medically assisted reproduction treatment

In a number of European countries, infertility patients are limited in their choice for medically assisted reproduction treatment, experts criticized today at the European Health Forum Gastein. Many patients seek treatment outside their home countries.

6 Oct 2010

ESHRE workshop highlights problems related to MAR treatment in Europe

European patients are in many countries, in fact, limited in their individual choice of medically assisted reproduction (MAR) treatment, experts from the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (ESHRE) stressed today at the European Health Forum Gastein (EHFG).

6 Oct 2010