Month: September 2012

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Cell Death Discovery Suggests New Ways to Protect Female Fertility

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Melbourne researchers have identified a new way of protecting female fertility, offering hope to women whose fertility may be compromised by the side-effects of cancer therapy or by premature menopause.

The researchers, from the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Monash University and Prince Henry’s Institute of Medical Research, made the discovery while investigating how egg cells die.

They found that two specific proteins, called PUMA and NOXA, cause the death of egg cells in the ovaries. The finding may lead to new strategies that protect women’s fertility by blocking the activity of these two proteins. Read full article.

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Europe’s new early embryo test

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Women who undergo in-vitro fertilizationare often unsure of their embryo survival once the embryo has been implanted back into the womb. However a new revolutionary fertility test only available in Europe, called Early Embryo Viability assessment (Eava) test, tells whether or not the embryo is likely to survive within 48 hours. Having this new technology means that the strongest embryos can be implanted back into the mothers womb to increase the chances of a success, and hope for more couples. This can also reduce financial cost for infertile couples who often times repeat IVF cycles before having a viable pregnancy. Read full article.

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Breast Cancer at 23

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Six months ago, Slayton Haney was like so many other twenty-somethings fresh out of college: newly on her own and just settling into her life and career as an adult. After graduating from Florida State University in 2011 with a degree in finance, she got a job as an accountant at the Ritz-Carlton in Orlando, where she moved in with a friend from school. Life was good.

Then, in May, Haney felt something in her breast. A lump. Read full article.

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Doctors claim first mom-daughter uterus transplant

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STOCKHOLM — Two Swedish women are carrying the wombs of their mothers after what doctors called the world’s first mother-to-daughter uterus transplants.

Specialists at the University of Goteborg completed the surgery over the weekend without complications, but say they won’t consider the procedures successful unless the women achieve pregnancy after their observation period ends a year from now.

“We are not going to call it a complete success until this results in children,” said Michael Olausson, one of the Swedish surgeons told The Associated Press. “That’s the best proof.” Read full article.

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Early Menopause May Double Heart Disease Risk, Study Says

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WEDNESDAY, Sept. 19 (HealthDay News) — Women who experience early menopause may face double the risk of heart disease and stroke, according to a new study.

This increased risk is true across different ethnic backgrounds and is independent of traditional heart disease and stroke risk factors, the researchers said.

The study included more than 2,500 women, aged 45 to 84, who were followed for between six and eight years. Twenty-eight percent of the women reported early menopause, which occurs before the age of 46. Read full article.

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Catholic School Teacher Fired Over In Vitro Backed

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(CBS/AP) FORT WAYNE, Ind. — Two national groups are throwing their support behind a former parochial school teacher who claims she was fired for trying to get pregnant through in vitro fertilization.

The Journal Gazette reports that the American Society for Reproductive Medicine and the American Civil Liberties Union filed friends of the court briefs Monday in support of Emily Herx.

Herx filed a federal lawsuit in April against the Roman Catholic Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend claiming that she was discriminated against for a disability when her teaching contract wasn’t renewed. Read full article.

 

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Human Sperm Can Swim in Perfect 3D Spirals

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One more reason for dudes to walk around like they’re hoarding the Eighth World Wonder in their boxer-briefs:

UCLA has revealed that human sperm can swim in a gorgeous, nature-perfect, three-dimensional spiral — not unlike the helix formed by human DNA, aesthetically — instead of just squiggling along in a desperate, haphazard route to the finish line.

Well, they still do that, too. But scientists discovered that…

… more than 1,000 sperm cells in a test batch of 24,000 moved in “a very tight helical, or corkscrew, motion,” at up to 20 rotations per second. Read full article.

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Switching Contraceptives Effectively

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The United States has one of the highest rates of unwanted pregnancies in the developed world — nearly half of pregnancies here are unintended, and there’s been no improvement in the situation for a decade.

Why? For one thing, women often encounter problems when the birth-control method they had been using no longer works well for them. Many women and their doctors are poorly versed in the wide array of effective choices and how to switch from one method to another without risking pregnancy. Read full article.