CHAPEL HILL — The method used to assess infertility in at-home tests might not be the best for identifying which women will have trouble getting pregnant, according to new research from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Med…
Fertility researchers have shown that nicotine and cotinine, a substance produced by nicotine’s breakdown, cause sperm to change in ways that could reduce fertility potential. In results presented at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, lead researcher Lani Burkman, Ph.D., reported that in laboratory experiments these chemicals, singly and in combination, decreased the capacity of sperm to perform functions necessary to fertilize a human egg.
Researchers have discovered a cellular basis for what many have long suspected: Men, as well as women, have a reproductive clock that ticks down with age. A recent study revealed that sperm in men older than 35 showed more DNA damage than that of men in the younger age group. In addition, the older men’s bodies appeared less efficient at eliminating the damaged cells, which could pass along problems to offspring