A team of US researchers has discovered a new drug that may protect egg cells from destruction during radiation therapy for cancer. They found that a chemical called sphingosine-1-phosphate (SIP) preserved the eggs and fertility of mice exposed to levels of radiation that would otherwise have destroyed their...
Fertility experts highlighted the ongoing problem of the 'postcode lottery' provision of fertility treatment in the UK at the Fertility 2000 conference in Edinburgh last week. Lord Robert Winston, of Hammersmith Hospital, London, said that the problems were worse under the current government than the last. 'I am increasingly dissatisfied...
Scientists have identified an altered version of a gene that leads to infertility in female sheep when present in two copies. But in a single copy, the same genetic mutation appears to increase fertility, causing the birth of non-identical twins or triplets. The researchers, based at the University of Otego...
Canadian scientists have successfully harvested eggs from human ovarian tissue 'incubated' on the back muscles of mice. The researchers announced their results at the annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, held in Bologna last week. The technique would provide an alternative to freezing eggs for...
The world's first cloned mouse has died of natural causes, aged two years and seven months. Cumulina was created using nuclear transfer - the 'Dolly technique'- by a team of scientists at the University of Hawaii Medical School. Her age corresponded to roughly 95 human years, according to a report by...
A second UK clinic is offering boys suffering from cancer the chance to have their glandular material frozen in the hope that it will later help then to father their own children. The procedure is already available at the CARE clinic in Nottingham. Dr Simon Fischel, the director, said they...
There's a case currently being heard in the English High Court which may have a revolutionary impact upon assisted reproduction. Margaret Briody is seeking damages of £200,000 in order, amongst other things, to pay for a surrogate mother to carry a child for her. Because of negligent medical care at...
Researchers from University College Hospital and the Middlesex Hospital have successfully treated teenage girls suffering from polycystic ovary syndrome using a drug normally used in diabetes treatment. Affecting one in five women, the condition can lead to weight gain, irregular periods, facial hair and sometimes infertility. The disorder, caused by...
The doctors involved in pioneering ovarian graft surgery, with the potential to treat sufferers of premature menopause and restore cancer victims' fertility, remained upbeat about the process despite reports that the initial operation has not been as successful as was hoped. The operation, carried out in February this year, involved...
This week's BioNews features a story that has preoccupied British newspapers during the past week: that ovarian tissue that has been in frozen storage can be returned to its owner to restore her fertility. That's the dull version of events. The headline grabber is that the menopause has been reversed...
Subscribe for free to what PET does best – informing you of the latest in fertility, genomics and embryo research.
