Scientists at the Waksman Institute of Microbiology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, have zeroed in on genes which are essential for fertilization . The proteins encoded by these genes are similar to low density lipoprotein (LDL) receptors, known from cholesterol and fat metabolism but never before specifically implicated in fertilization.
Women are risking their chances of having children because they are delaying motherhood on the basis of “false expectations” about the success of IVF treatment.
A take-home fertility-testing kit under development in a Massey University laboratory will give women and couples further control over pregnancy planning.
New research suggests that medications commonly referred to as fertility drugs may be ineffective for women who lack a gene called the estrogen receptor beta. The study showed that fertility drugs did not improve ovulation rates in mice that were genetically engineered to lack estrogen receptor beta. The estrogen receptor beta is one of two estrogen receptor proteins which mediate the effects of estrogen hormones and are present throughout the female reproductive tissues. These new data indicate that this receptor plays a critical role in ovulation, and suggests that women who do not have this receptor may benefit more from alternative infertility treatments. The findings are reported in Endocrinology.
The presence of infertility in a man may be the symptom of other underlying medical conditions (albeit rare) that should not be overlooked and in some instances, may be life threatening.
Women with a history of fertility problems appear to run the risk of developing certain cancers, new research indicates.
More than 2 out of 5 infertile women would use technology that enables them to choose the sex of their unborn babies if it were freely available, a survey shows.
A team of researchers working with cells from mice has overcome a technical barrier and succeeded in growing sperm progenitor cells in laboratory culture. The researchers transplanted the cells into infertile mice, which were then able to produce sperm and father offspring that were genetically related to the donor mice.
Injections of a hormone made by fat cells can jump-start an idling reproductive system, research shows. Twice-daily injections of leptin restored menstruation in female athletes who had become so lean that their periods had stopped.
During the conference in Berlin organized by the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology researchers from the Center for Reproduction, Endocrinology and Diabetes at King’s College London, told that khat leaves have a chemical which causes sperm to become fertile faster, and stay fertile longer.