| Hope for post-childhood cancer sperm production |
| 5 July 2010 - by Dr Lux Fatimathas |
| Testicular tissue from pre-pubescent boys has been successfully converted to sperm precursor cells. Belgian researchers isolated and froze immature testicular tissue from two pre-pubescent boys. The preserved tissue was thawed out and used to generate spermatogonial cells - an intermediate step towards producing sperm. These findings could potentially help pre-pubescent boys left infertile as a result of cancer treatment... [Read More] |
| Genetic link to fertility drug response found |
| 5 July 2010 - by Dr Marianne Kennedy |
| 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] |
| Giving birth to IVM babies more difficult, study finds |
| 5 July 2010 - by Maren Urner |
| Babies born after in vitro maturation of ooctyes (IVM), an assisted reproductive technology (ART), seem to be larger and to have more complicated births. Researchers led by Dr Peter Sjöblom from Nottingham University's NURTURE IVF clinic found the average birth weight of 165 IVM babies was six to nine per cent higher than babies conceived by IVF/ICSI. The IVM babies' birth weights were also 0.3 to six per cent higher than the national average for singleton births... [Read More] |
| Ovarian transplants an elixir of youth, for mice |
| 5 July 2010 - by Dr Sophie Pryor |
| When ovaries from young mice were transplanted into aging females, the old mice lived longer and changed their reproductive behaviour, scientists from Japan have found. The findings raise the question of whether a similar effect may be seen in women receiving ovarian transplants... [Read More] |
| More genes linked to diabetes found |
| 5 July 2010 - by Dr Tamara Hirsch |
| Scientists have identified 12 new gene variants associated with type 2 diabetes, according to recent work published in Nature Genetics... [Read More] |
| Age limit on free IVF could be abandoned |
| 5 July 2010 - by Rosemary Paxman |
| The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) is considering lifting its age limit for free IVF on the National Health Service (NHS), as part of a full review of its guidelines. Instead, women would be offered free IVF on the NHS if they had enough viable eggs... [Read More] |
| Gene, toxin and virus interact in Crohn's disease |
| 5 July 2010 - by Victoria Kay |
| US scientists have shown for the first time how a virus, a toxin and a genetic mutation interact to cause Crohn's disease. The study, in mice, may help explain why many people with disease risk genes don't develop the condition... [Read More] |
| Centenarians provide genetic clues to ageing |
| 5 July 2010 - by Chris Chatterton |
| Stories about a genetic test to see if you would live to 100 abounded in the UK press last week. Was this hype or something more? The stories arose following the publication of a paper in Science where researchers claimed to have identified regions of the genome linked to exceptional longevity... [Read More] |
| Huntington's disease more common than previously thought |
| 5 July 2010 - by Dr Jay Stone |
| Two papers published in the Lancet have suggested that the number of people in the UK suffering with Huntington’s disease (HD) may be double original figures and that patients are failing to be diagnosed due to the stigma attached to the illness... [Read More] |
| What's driving UK fertility tourism? First study published |
| 5 July 2010 - by Seil Collins |
| Expensive UK fertility treatment and long waiting times related to a shortage of egg and sperm donors are the major reasons people seek fertility treatment abroad, according to the first academic study into cross-border reproductive care.... [Read More] |
