News by Subject Medicine & Health

Women experiencing miscarriage should be offered a choice in the treatment they receive, argues a new study from the University of Warwick that compares all treatment options for the first time.

One out of every six Canadian couples experiences infertility. Some resort to in vitro fertilization. But the embryos obtained through this technique often have defects. In a study published today in the journal Current Biology, researchers from the University of Montreal Hospital Research Centre (CRCHUM) succeeded in reducing the number of defects in mouse embryos in the laboratory. In the medium term, this unprecedented discovery could improve infertile couples' chances of giving birth.

Research shows that sperm that live for longer before fertilising an egg produce healthier offspring. What's more, these offspring go on to have longer, healthier lifespans -- and in turn produce more and healthier offspring themselves. It was assumed that it doesn't matter which sperm fertilises an egg. But this shows that there are massive differences between sperm and how they affect offspring. The research was carried out in zebrafish but may have implications for human fertility.

While previous studies have shown the adverse health effects of prenatal exposure to the industrial chemical bisphenol A (BPA), there is little evidence surrounding effects specifically on ovarian function. A new study now finds there is sufficient data to raise concerns regarding exposure and ovarian performance.

Women who take the pill are nearly 10 percent worse at recognizing subtle expressions of complex emotions like pride or contempt, according to research published in Frontiers in Neuroscience. Previous research suggests the relationship is causal, but the impact on women's ability to form intimate relationships is unknown.

A phthalate found in many plastic and personal care products may decrease fertility in female mice, a new study found. Researchers at the University of Illinois found that giving female mice oral doses of the phthalate DiNP for 10 days disrupted their estrus cycles, decreasing their ability to become pregnant for up to nine months afterward.

Women live remarkably long after their fertility ends, but why? Researchers at the University of Turku used historical Finnish church records to show that being there after the menopause to look after grandchildren improved the grandchildren's survival. However, the study finds the ability to provide help to grandchildren declines with grandmother age and deteriorated health, and the benefits from grandmothering to our families have selected us to survive beyond menopause only up to a point.

New information is unfolding on the genetic controls of an early turning point in pregnancy -- the changes in an embryo's cells that occur as it prepares to lodge in the wall of the uterus. Understanding what can go wrong with these genetic controls is shedding light on implantation failure, a major cause of human infertility.