Japanese scientists successfully restored fertility in sterile mice using sperm cells that were originated in the lab, reports a new study in the journal Cell. The research promises to help scientists better understand fertility …
Infertility
Where Do (Some) Babies Come From? In Washington, a New Law Bans Anonymous Sperm and Egg Donors
Traditionally, the identities of egg and sperm donors have been tightly guarded secrets, numbers with no names attached, making it difficult for their biological offspring to ever make contact. Today, that changes as Washington …
Sperm Gene May Explain Some Male Infertility
A mutation in a gene for a sperm-related protein found in 20% of men may be responsible for a significant proportion of unexplained male infertility, according to a new study.
Less-Educated Women Have More Children. Or Is It the Other Way Around?
It makes sense that education would impede childbearing. In nearly every country, women with more education tend to have fewer children than less-educated mothers. But new research suggests it may actually work the other way …
Is He Gay? Ovulating Women Can Tell
Ovulation is a really useful biological function. Not only does it facilitate pregnancy — though sperm are in no short supply, the ephemeral egg appears just once a month — but new research finds that it also helps a woman …
North Carolina Mulls Compensating Victims of Forced Sterilization
Having a baby is a widely anticipated milestone for many adults, so it’s easy to imagine the shock endured by thousands of people who were forcibly sterilized by the government beginning before World War II. Now, North Carolina …
Should Men Be Allowed to Father Children After They’re Dead?
Fertility-treatment innovations mean that all sorts of people who would not have been able to have a baby a generation ago are now able to bring life into the world. Now, some are arguing the ranks of the newly fertile should …
Mind-Body Programs Boost Pregnancy Rates for IVF Patients
Infertility treatment is stressful: everyone else seems to be getting pregnant; why can’t you? So what if there were an evidence-based method that could dramatically increase the success of in-vitro fertilization, or IVF?
Avoiding Ethical Quandaries In Embryo Donation
When it’s most successful, in vitro fertilization, or IVF, yields far more embryos than a couple could ever use (unless that couple is the offspring-obsessed Duggar family). There are frequently frozen embryos left over, and …
Even as Babies, Cancer Patients Strive to Preserve Fertility
Tina Robison, a gynecologic oncologist, sends all her patients of child-bearing age for counseling about ways to safeguard their fertility after they’ve been handed a cancer diagnosis. So when she and her husband, who is also a …
Guys Are Right: Size Matters, When It Comes to Fertility
Men’s obsession with size in their nether region may be justified after all. New research indicates size — of a sort — does matter when it comes to male fertility.
Can Mail-In Menstrual Blood Banks Help Save Lives?
Menstruation serves an important purpose, clearing the uterus out monthly in order to prepare the womb for a potential pregnancy. We women understand that, but still, bleeding every month down yonder is no one’s idea of fun. …
An Argument for Making Birth-Control Pills Available Over the Counter
American women spend about five years either pregnant, trying to get pregnant or postpartum; contrast that with the three decades they spend trying to consciously avoid having a baby.