Problems in a gene responsible for producing the protein TAF4b leave mice — and maybe men — unable to sustain sperm production. As embryos, mice lacking the protein failed to develop an adequate number of key cells in the sperm production process and as adults they quickly lost their initial fertility.
Month: March 2015
When Do I Get A Sibling? How To Talk To Your Child About Infertility
Like so many – actually, most – of our friends, my wife and I had a helluva time conceiving our daughter. After SEVEN rounds of IVF (An award for my wife, please), we had Viva. And because we’re either incredibly hopeful or love flying too close to the sun, we’ve even gone a couple of luckless rounds with the help of a gestational carrier to try for a second baby. Are we done trying? Ask us at the end of a long day or when we’re plucking out our gray hairs and we’ll say, “Yes.” Ask us when we’re trying to decide if we’re getting rid of the bassinets and the changing table and we’ll say, “Maybe not.”
Women With Endometriosis Need Support, Not Judgement
Known for years as the “career woman’s disease” based on the idea that women without children develop disease in their reproductive organs, endometriosis is a painful condition thought to affect one in ten women worldwide.
In Vitro Births Continue to Rise in US
More babies in the United States are being conceived by in vitro fertilization, a new report shows. Nearly 2,000 more infants were born with the help of this assisted reproductive technology in 2013, compared with 2012, the researchers reported
In Vitro Births Continue to Rise in US
More babies in the United States are being conceived by in vitro fertilization, a new report shows. Nearly 2,000 more infants were born with the help of this assisted reproductive technology in 2013, compared with 2012, the researchers reported
Is 50 the New 40 for Motherhood?
Before singer Sophie B. Hawkins, who already has a 6-year-old son, decided to have another baby at 50, she admits, her age made her think more than twice about the humongous and life-changing step.
The Future of Fertility: From Womb Transplant to Ovarian Tissue and Embryo Freezing
Fertility doctors don’t give standing ovations very often. But when a team of Swedish doctors announced at a recent conference the first-ever birth of a baby to a woman who had a womb transplant, it nearly blew the doors off the room.
Mitochondrial Manipulation Technology Unlikely in United States Anytime Soon
Lawmakers in the United Kingdom voted recently to allow fertility clinics to use mitochondrial manipulation technology (MMT) to enable women with mutations in mitochondrial genes to have genetically healthy children . But the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is being much more conservative and is awaiting results of further preclinical research before allowing clinical trials to begin. The technology is of concern because it manipulates the germline, something many countries prohibit.
Retroviruses: Human Embryos May Be Affected By Ancient Viral Invaders
Viruses that invaded the DNA of humanity’s ancestors millions of years ago may now play critical roles in the earliest stages of human development, researchers say.
Over-The-Counter Birth Control Could Be Huge For Women — With One Exception
In the wake of the Affordable Care Act contraception mandate, religious exemptions and the Hobby Lobby case, a new avenue for low-cost birth control emerged: over-the-counter pills at your local pharmacy. As it turns out, this may be the way to lower unintended pregnancies once and for all in the United States — or at least greatly reduce them. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco recently found that over-the-counter birth control pills could reduce unplanned pregnancies among low-income women by up to 25 percent.