vitro fertilization
Uterine health more important than egg quality
HOUSTON (Feb. 2, 2011) — For women seeking pregnancy by assisted reproductive technologies, such as in-vitro fertilization (IVF), a new study shows that the health of the uterus is more relevant than egg quality for a newborn to achieve normal birt…
Study links increased BPA exposure to reduced egg quality in women
A small-scale University of California, San Francisco-led study has identified the first evidence in humans that exposure to bisphenol A (BPA) may compromise the quality of a woman’s eggs retrieved for in vitro fertilization (IVF). As blood lev…
Overcoming the IVF baby blues
Between 20 and 30 percent of women who undergo in vitro fertilization (IVF) procedures suffer from significant symptoms of depression. Many practitioners believe that the hormone therapy involved in IVF procedures is primarily responsible for this. …
Sperm Use Heat Sensors to Find the Egg
Much like guided missiles that sense the heat of a plane?s engine, sperm are guided to the fertilization site by temperature, reports a study published in the current issue of Nature Medicine. The site where the egg lies is slightly warmer than the place where the sperm make a pause in their journey through the female genital tract. Sperm cells are apparently guided by this temperature difference in their navigation. Such a temperature-driven mechanism was previously known to exist in microorganisms and worms, but the Weizmann study for the first time has provided evidence for its existence in sperm cells.