Sun, sex and babies: Could vitamin D boost fertility?

Exposure to increased levels of vitamin D could boost your fertility, a recent study suggests. The findings may also explain why conception rates fall in the winter and peak in the summer in Northern European countries....[Read More]

Genetic regions linked to timing of menopause

Thirteen genomic regions appear to influence the age at onset of menopause, according to a genetic study. These regions contain genes involved in DNA repair and immune responses, processes not previously linked to menopause...[Read More]

Myriad Genetics acquires patent on another breast cancer-linked gene

Myriad Genetics, a leading US molecular diagnostic company, has been granted exclusive rights to an analysis of the RAD51C gene. Mutations of the gene have been associated with an increased risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer and the company now hopes to develop a commercial test for RAD51C....[Read More]

Film Review: Eggsploitation

'Eggsploitation' highlights some worrying issues with the way in which egg-harvesting currently operates. Yet it leaves the viewer with the feeling that they haven't been shown the whole picture and a sneaking suspicion that a hidden agenda is at play...[Read More]

Aspirin cuts hereditary bowel cancer risk by 60 percent

Taking a daily aspirin has been recommended for people with a high risk of an inherited form of bowel cancer. Results published in The Lancet suggested the risk for those with Lynch syndrome could be cut by 63 percent...[Read More]

A private sperm donor writes...

A shortfall in donated sperm, we are told, has pushed potential recipients onto websites where private sperm donors hawk their reproductive wares. If only the officially sanctioned sperm banks were well stocked, the thinking goes, women would not have to venture into that murky world. But is that correct? What if sperm donation outside the official channels actually carried certain advantages over the clinic system...[Read More]

TV Review: Me, My Sex and I

'Me, My Sex and I' is a documentary about people who are born neither entirely male nor female. I must state at the outset that this programme is about the sex of the individual, and should not be confused with gender, which is how people identify themselves (something that many other TV reviews have got wrong in describing this programme). As the show makes clear, sex is not an 'either or' for many people; the real buzz word here is 'ambiguous'....[Read More]

Female fertility may be improved by breast cancer risk gene

A genetic mutation known to increase a woman's risk of cancer could also increase their fertility, research suggests. Women with mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes, which are associated with a higher risk of breast and ovarian cancer, were found to have larger families when compared to control groups...[Read More]

Cap on gamete donor expenses in the UK should be lifted, report recommends

A report on the donation of human bodily material for medicine and research has made several recommendations including removing the current cap on egg and sperm donor expenses in the UK...[Read More]

Comic Review: How to Have a Baby - The Comic Book for Infertile Couples

The 744-page book covers the causes of infertility, imaging techniques, assisted reproductive techniques, surrogacy, donor gametes and adoption...[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]

Cochrane review finds little evidence aspirin affects IVF

There is insufficient evidence to suggest that taking aspirin during IVF increases a woman's chances of conceiving, according to the latest Cochrane Systematic Review...[Read More]

TV Review: Sextuplets - The Little Lambs    

'Sextuplets: The Little Lambs' tells the extraordinary story of the Lamb family. Vicky and Andy Lamb are the first parents of sextuplets born in Britain for 17 years...[Read More]

Ovarian stimulation linked to egg abnormalities in older mothers

European researchers have linked ovarian stimulation in women aged over 35 to increased chromosomal abnormalities. Genetic screening shows that the production of oocytes is disrupted during fertility treatment involving ovarian stimulation...[Read More]

Professor Robert Edwards awarded Nobel Prize for pioneering work in IVF

British scientist Professor Robert Edwards, 85, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in medicine for his ground-breaking IVF work...[Read More]

Scientists create 'artificial ovary'

Many women face fertility problems following treatment for cancer. However, a US research team has offered new hope to female cancer patients wishing to have children, by creating the world’s first artificial ovary capable of developing human egg cells....[Read More]

Genetic link to fertility drug response found

Scientists have discovered a genetic mutation that may make some women less likely to respond to the ovarian stimulating hormones used in fertility treatment. Dr Maria Lalioti and her colleagues from Yale University Medical School, US, reported their findings at the 26th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Rome last week...[Read More]

New blood test predicts early menopause

Women could soon find out how long they have left to start a family thanks to a blood test that determines when they will go through menopause....[Read More]

Waking dormant eggs may boost fertility

A US study on mice has given hope to women with reduced fertility, including those receiving treatment for cancer. If transferable to humans, it seems activating dormant eggs could increase the chances of conception....[Read More]

IVF does not lead to early menopause

A group of researchers at the Bourn Hall Clinic, Queensland University of Technology and the Weill Medical College of Cornell University, New York, have concluded that IVF treatment does not hasten the onset of the menopause or the severity of symptoms, having investigated the first generation of...[Read More]