To twin or not to twin? That is the (unasked) question

A recent spate of articles celebrating the birth of an IVF 'twin' five years after her brother left me perplexed. Why was this news, when embryo freezing has been in use since the mid-1980s? And as the children were not identical by what definition were they twins?

One or two embryos in IVF? It depends on your age, study says

The transfer of one or two embryos during IVF should be dependent on the age of the mother, according to a UK study...[Read More]

Mouse sperm grown in lab

Researchers have successfully extracted germ cells - the cells that give rise to gametes - from the testes of mice, and used them to grow sperm in the lab...[Read More]

Freezing embryos after IVF may result in 'healthier' babies

A new study has shown that babies born following IVF using frozen embryos may be born later and weigh more than babies born from fresh embryos....[Read More]

Book Review: Birth Rites and Rights

We inherit our biological identity at conception but our humanity in a process beginning at birth. Nothing reminds us of this more than the rites and rituals surrounding birth and the way our rights change as we stop being a part of our mother and become a 'person'...[Read More]

Book Review: The Reproductive System at a Glance

As a biomedical research scientist recently returned to university to retrain as a medic, I am very much the target audience for the re-issued academic textbook 'The Reproductive System at a Glance', which provides a succinct guide to all facets of human reproduction...[Read More]

Progress Educational Trust Conference: Introduction to the embryo and its out of body experience

Progress Educational Trust (PET)'s annual conference, 2011, 'The Best Possible Start in Life: The Robust and Responsive Embryo', started with two fantastic sessions chaired by Dr Virginia Bolton, consultant embryologist at the assisted conception unit at Guy's Hospital, London, UK....[Read More]

'Stolen' sperm spawns twins, lawsuit

A man is suing a US fertility clinic in negligence for 'mental and economic injuries' after alleging it used his 'stolen' sperm to impregnate his girlfriend without his consent....[Read More]

Smokers denied access to assisted conception

An increasing number of NHS clinics that provide assisted reproduction technologies (ART) are denying treatment to women who smoke or have a partner who smokes. But is it appropriate for any lifestyle factors to be used to deny state-funded treatment? And where should the line be drawn between medical 'advice' and 'restrictions'?...[Read More]

The far-stretching reach of Mississippi's personhood amendment

On 8 November the Mississippi electorate voted against an amendment to the Bill of Rights in their state Constitution which would have redefined life as beginning at the moment of fertilisation – the so-called 'personhood amendment' (Proposition 26)...[Read More]

An embryo is not a person say Mississippi voters

Voters in the US state of Mississippi have voted against a proposed constitutional amendment that would have defined life as beginning at fertilisation. The proposed amendment would have afforded embryos and fetuses – whether conceived naturally or artificially - similar legal protection as that covering all US citizens but was rejected by over 55 per cent of voters on 8 November...[Read More]

Ban on embryonic stem cell patents by European Court of Justice

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that stem cell processes which require the prior destruction of human embryos or are based upon the use of human embryos are not patentable. The decision may have wide implications for scientists engaged in embryonic stem cell research....[Read More]

Biopsy of egg DNA to aid IVF

US researchers have developed a way to analyse the viability of human eggs at a genetic level without causing them harm. This technology will help improve the chances of successful IVF for couples with fertility problems...[Read More]

Aligning research legislation: interspecies embryos and animals containing human material

In 2008, important changes were made to the legislation governing the use of human embryos in research, the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act (HFE Act) 1990. The legislation was extended to five categories of 'human admixed embryos' containing human and animal cellular or genetic components, which were brought within the licensing regime of the HFE Act...[Read More]

Right to life vs right to found a family: The case of Costa Rica

Costa Rica is being taken to the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACHR) for failing to lift a national ban on IVF, which is sometimes the only medical intervention that can resolve a case of infertility or sub-fertility (1).The Costa Rican law making IVF illegal came into force in 2000. The country's Constitutional Court ruled IVF violated Article Four of the American Convention on Human Rights - 'the right to life' - by defining life from the moment of fertilisation (2). The IACHR orde...[Read More]

Scientists discover how the egg catches the sperm

Researchers have discovered a molecule present on the outer surface of a human egg that binds sperm and eggs together before fertilisation. Understanding this mechanism may help people with previously unexplained fertility problems...[Read More]

Landmark case allows Israeli family to freeze their dead daughter's eggs

An Israeli court has granted permission for a family to extract and freeze eggs from their deceased daughter's ovaries...[Read More]

Embryo's survival can be predicted based on egg's movement

Rhythmic activity detected in newly fertilised mouse eggs may provide a novel and non-invasive screening method for identifying embryos most likely to survive a full-term pregnancy, according to research published in Nature Communications...[Read More]

Dead father granted parenthood in surrogacy case

The UK's High Court has awarded legal parenthood to a deceased father of a child born through a surrogacy arrangement in India....[Read More]

Artificial sperm made from stem cells

Scientists in Japan have successfully generated viable sperm cells from embryonic stem cells in mice. The sperm cells were able to fertilise eggs and for the first time this produced healthy, fertile offspring...[Read More]