Embryo News and Research

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NeoStem responds to court ruling blocking government funding for embryonic stem cell research

NeoStem, Inc., an international biopharmaceutical company with operations in the U.S. and China, commented today on the ruling this week of a U.S. District Court blocking the federal government from funding research involving human embryonic stem cells. In issuing a preliminary injunction, the judge said it violated a law first passed in 1996 prohibiting federal money for research where a human embryo is destroyed.

25 Aug 2010

Stem cell research issues fought out in the court

A US district court has issued a temporary injunction stopping President Obama’s plans to increase funding for human embryonic stem cell research. The US government will appeal. According to a Justice Department spokesman, they are likely to file a case this week.

24 Aug 2010

FRC applauds preliminary injunction to stop taxpayers for embryonic stem cell research

Family Research Council President Tony Perkins applauded today's preliminary injunction that for now stops taxpayer funded embryonic stem cell research. Judge Royce Lamberth noted that the imposition of an injunction required that those challenging the government's funding demonstrate a substantial likelihood of success on the merits for their arguments.

24 Aug 2010

Scientists study yeast to understand human pathologies affecting male fertility

Men and yeast have something in common: they use the same molecular process to ensure the integrity of their gene pool during reproduction. This is a recent finding by researchers from CNRS, Inserm and the Université Joseph Fourier in Grenoble. The scientists are therefore set on studying yeast in order to shed light on the numerous cases of male infertility related to the malfunction of this process during spermatogenesis.

19 Aug 2010

Researchers pace embryonic heart with laser

Scientists at Case Western Reserve University and Vanderbilt University found that pulsed light can pace contractions in an avian embryonic heart, with no apparent damage to the tissue. The work, "Optical pacing of the embryonic heart," will be published in the advanced online issue of Nature Photonics on Aug. 15, 2010.According to the scientists, this non-invasive device may prove an effective tool in understanding how environmental factors that alter an embryo's heart rate lead to congenital defects. It may also lead to investigations of cardiac electrophysiology at the cellular, tissue and organ levels, and possibly the development of a new generation of pacemakers.

16 Aug 2010

Healthy eggs require tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity for fertilization: Research

Scientists as well as fertility doctors have long tried to figure out what makes a good egg that will produce a healthy embryo. It's a particularly critical question for fertility doctors deciding which eggs isolated from a woman will produce the best embryos and, ultimately, babies.New research reveals healthy eggs need a tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity and be ready for fertilization,a finding that may ultimately help physicians assess the best eggs for fertility treatment, according to a study from Northwestern University.

10 Aug 2010

Thymosin beta 4 is essential to healthy heart development, embryonic survival: Research

RegeneRx Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. today announced that a research team from the Molecular Medicine Unit at UCL-Institute of Child Health in London reported preclinical findings that Thymosin beta 4, is essential to healthy heart development and embryonic survival.

2 Aug 2010

Study implicates Fritz's role in human genetic disorders

Mutations in a gene known as "Fritz" may be responsible for causing human genetic disorders such as Bardet-Biedl syndrome, University of Texas at Austin developmental biologist John Wallingford and Duke University human geneticist and cell biologist Nicholas Katsanis have found.

31 Jul 2010

Highlights on reasoning behind MRC's negative decision on funding of IVF

Thirty-two years ago today, the world's first baby was born after in vitro fertilisation. However, the work that led to the birth of Louise Brown on 25 July 1978 had to be privately funded after the UK's Medical Research Council decided in 1971 against providing the Cambridge physiologist Robert Edwards and the Oldham gynaecologist Patrick Steptoe with long-term financial support. Today, an intriguing paper published in Europe's leading reproductive medicine journal Human Reproduction reveals for the first time the reasoning behind the MRC's much-criticised decision.

26 Jul 2010

Univfy, Stanford scientists develop first validated prognostic test for predicting IVF live birth outcomes

Univfy, a pioneer in the development of personalized in vitro fertilization (IVF) prognostic tools, announced today the publication of new research findings in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) by its founding scientific team and clinical collaborators from Stanford University.

20 Jul 2010

Tet 1 protein helps stem cells renew themselves and stay pluripotent: Researchers

Take a skin cell from a patient with Type 1 diabetes. Strip out everything that made it a skin cell, then reprogram it to grow into a colony of pancreatic beta cells. Implant these into your patient and voilà! She's producing her own insulin like a pro.

19 Jul 2010

Funding ART in Québec is highly justified and ethical use of public funds, says IAAC

Following the announcement on July 13 by Québec's Minister of Health and Social Services, Dr. Yves Bolduc, that assisted reproduction treatments (ART) will be covered by the public health system of Québec as of August 5, 2010, many comments have been made about how this new policy will stress the public health system, and neonatology units in particular.

16 Jul 2010

Experts use Mexican aquatic salamander to study evolution and genetics of stem cells

Dr Andrew Johnson is speaking today (12 July) at the UK National Stem Cell Network annual conference. He and his team from the University of Nottingham have been using a Mexican aquatic salamander called an axolotl to study the evolution and genetics of stem cells - research that supports the development of regenerative medicine to treat the consequences of disease and injury using stem cell therapies. This team has found that there are extraordinary similarities in the development of axolotls and mammals that provide unique opportunities to study the properties of embryonic stem cells and germ cells.

12 Jul 2010

Study shows gene-environment interaction in congenital heart disease

A pregnant mother's diet may be able to interact with the genes her unborn child inherits and influence the type or severity of birth defect according to research funded by the Wellcome Trust and the British Heart Foundation. The study, published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, suggests that mothers who eat a high fat diet before and through pregnancy could be inadvertently putting the health of their offspring at risk.

7 Jul 2010

EMBL scientists develop Fly Digital Embryo to film development of fruit fly, zebrafish's eyes and brain

The scientists at the European Molecular Biology Laboratory in Heidelberg, Germany, who 'fathered' the Digital Embryo have now given it wings, creating the Fly Digital Embryo. In work published today in Nature Methods, they were able to capture fruit fly development on film, and were the first to clearly record how a zebrafish's eyes and midbrain are formed.

5 Jul 2010

Ronin, Hcf-1 bind together to control gene program that stimulates growth of stem cells

Ronin, crucial to the self-renewal of embryonic stem cells, and a co-regulator called Hcf-1, binds to a small strand of DNA called a hyperconserved enhancer element to control a gene "program" that stimulates growth of the stem cells and may even play a role in cancer, said a group of researchers led by Baylor College of Medicine in a current report in the journal Genes and Development.

1 Jul 2010

New guide to get pregnant

Infertility affects about 7 million Americans -- that's about one in six couples during their childbearing years. There are many reasons for infertility, with equal chances it's his medical issue as it is hers. A new book, "A Baby at Last!: The Couples' Complete Guide to Getting Pregnant" (Fireside Books, Simon and Schuster), points the way for couples to get past the emotionally wrenching obstacle of infertility and finally bring home their bundle of joy.

1 Jul 2010

Advanced 3D/4D ultrasound to guide embryo transfer during IVF reduces risk of ectopic pregnancy

Using advanced 3D/4D ultrasound to guide embryo transfer during in vitro fertilization (IVF) significantly reduces a woman's risk of ectopic pregnancy and its associated complications, Robert Gergely, M.D., medical director, 3D Sonography Center of Beverly Hills, reported today.

30 Jun 2010

ESHRE's EIM: Europe leads in Assisted Reproduction Technology

Europe leads the world in Assisted Reproduction Technology (ART) with most cycles initiated in the region, the 26th Annual Meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology heard today (Wednesday 30 June).

30 Jun 2010

Molecular Biometrics' ViaMetrics-E procedure accurately predicts implantation rates in SET IVF cycles

Researchers from Molecular Biometrics, Inc. presented new data this week demonstrating that the company's ViaMetrics-E procedure more accurately predicts implantation rates in single embryo transfer (SET) cycles for patients undergoing infertility treatment. ViaMetrics-E is a rapid, non-invasive procedure used to enhance in vitro fertilization (IVF) outcomes by identifying viable embryos having the greatest reproductive potential.

30 Jun 2010

Embryo News and Research

NeoStem responds to court ruling blocking government funding for embryonic stem cell research

Stem cell research issues fought out in the court

FRC applauds preliminary injunction to stop taxpayers for embryonic stem cell research

Scientists study yeast to understand human pathologies affecting male fertility

Researchers pace embryonic heart with laser

Healthy eggs require tremendous amount of zinc to reach maturity for fertilization: Research

Thymosin beta 4 is essential to healthy heart development, embryonic survival: Research

Study implicates Fritz's role in human genetic disorders

Highlights on reasoning behind MRC's negative decision on funding of IVF

Univfy, Stanford scientists develop first validated prognostic test for predicting IVF live birth outcomes

Tet 1 protein helps stem cells renew themselves and stay pluripotent: Researchers

Funding ART in Québec is highly justified and ethical use of public funds, says IAAC

Experts use Mexican aquatic salamander to study evolution and genetics of stem cells

Study shows gene-environment interaction in congenital heart disease

EMBL scientists develop Fly Digital Embryo to film development of fruit fly, zebrafish's eyes and brain

Ronin, Hcf-1 bind together to control gene program that stimulates growth of stem cells

New guide to get pregnant

Advanced 3D/4D ultrasound to guide embryo transfer during IVF reduces risk of ectopic pregnancy

ESHRE's EIM: Europe leads in Assisted Reproduction Technology

Molecular Biometrics' ViaMetrics-E procedure accurately predicts implantation rates in SET IVF cycles

Expanding research and clinical options for children with cancer

Examining how pain could play a direct protective role in the gut

From Puberty to Menopause: Clue’s CEO, Audrey Tsang on the Power of Femtech

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