The form of cell division by which egg and sperm cells are formed. Unlike normal cell division (mitosis), the number of chromosomes in the resulting cells is half that in the original cells.
I am all for challenging dogma, but to do so requires robust evidence and carefully drawn conclusions. In the case of Professor Jonathan Tilly's much-trumpeted study on stem cells in ovaries that can give rise to eggs, I feel that both were missing...
The advent of PGD extended the scope of IVF beyond the treatment of infertility. PGD is predominantly used to prevent transmission of genetic defects arising from mutations in nuclear DNA. However, it can also be used to reduce the risk of transmitting mutations in mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), which cause a range of debilitating and life-threatening diseases...
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...
A new study looking at the regulation of egg production in mice ovaries has identified a defect in 'quality control', which may help scientists understand why some women have a miscarriage during pregnancy...
Research carried out at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine suggests that the packaging of DNA affects the production of sperm and could explain some cases of male infertility....
Children with a rare genetic disorder called Williams syndrome lack normal social fear and appear to have no racial biases, according to German and French researchers. The study is the first to report the absence of racial stereotyping in any human population, according to study co-author Professor Meyer-Lindenberg...
A new study into autism has found a link between the disorder in children and their grandparents' age. The research, published in PLoS ONE last week, is the first of its kind to look at grandparent's as opposed to parents' ages...
British scientists have created early-stage, human sperm from female stem cells, according to a news report in New Scientist magazine. It is claimed that the research will pave the way for same sex couples to have children that are genetically their own. However, other scientists are sceptical...
Ten years since the first reports of preimplantation genetic diagnosis for abnormal chromosome number, or aneuploidy, (now commonly known as PGS - preimplantation genetic screening), we are experiencing a prejudicial mistrust of a clinical approach that is generally accepted to be scientifically and clinically sound. Opponents of PGS frequently criticise its...
As many as a fifth of a woman's eggs are genetically scrambled - but it's not because they can't check their chromosomes, say a team of UK and French scientists. A new study published in the journal Reproduction shows that egg-producing cells in mammals have a mechanism for checking their chromosomes...
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