Researchers identify key proteins needed for ovulation – study reveals essential step in female reproductive process. – Researchers from the National Institutes of Health and other institutions have identified in mice two proteins essential for ovulation to take place.
Late motherhood boosts family lifespan. Same genes linked to longevity and births after age 45. – Women who have babies naturally in their 40s or 50s tend to live longer than other women. Now, a new study shows their brothers also live longer, but the brothers’ wives do not, suggesting the same genes prolong lifespan and female fertility, and may be more important than social and environmental factors.
High prevalence of child marriage in India fuels fertility risks. – Despite India’s economic and educational reform efforts in the last decade, the prevalence of child marriage remains high, fueling the risks of multiple unwanted pregnancies, pregnancy terminations and female sterilizations.
Children of older fathers perform less well in intelligence tests during infancy – Children of older fathers perform less well in a range of cognitive tests during infancy and early childhood, according to a study published this week in the open-access journal PLoS Medicine.
Marijuana use linked to increased risk of testicular cancer. Risk appears to be elevated particularly among frequent and/or long-term users of marijuana. – Frequent and/or long-term marijuana use may significantly increase a man’s risk of developing the most aggressive type of testicular cancer, according to a study by researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.
No convincing association is found between use of fertility drugs and risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new study. – The use of fertility drugs does not increase a woman’s risk of developing ovarian cancer, finds a large study from Danish researchers published on bmj.com.
Antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea increases from 2 percent to 28 percent in Ontario ? Canada’s most populous province. – The prevalence of quinolone-resistant gonorrhea has increased rapidly in Ontario ? Canada’s most populous province ? from a rate of 2% in 2001 to 28% in 2006, found a study published in CMAJ.
Animal eggs not suitable substitutes to produce stem cells – Since the cloning of Dolly the Sheep over a decade ago, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been considered a promising way to generate human, patient-specific stem cells for therapeutic applications.
Exposure to perfluorinated chemicals may reduce women’s fertility – Researchers have found the first evidence that perfluorinated chemicals (PFCs) ? chemicals that are widely used in everyday items such as food packaging, pesticides, clothing, upholstery, carpets and personal care products ? may be associated with infertility in women.
Health Minister invites diaspora to join in developing healthcare – Indian Health Minister Dr. Anbumani Ramadoss has called for public-private partnership in health sector to meet the gap between supply and demand.
Building work starts on the largest IVF facility in the NHS, UK with ?3.3m. – A ?3.3m plan to reorganise Reproductive Medicine services in Leeds, bringing them together for the first time in a single purpose-designed facility which will improve care for fertility patients, is getting underway.
EPA should pursue cumulative risk assessment of phthalates and other chemicals – The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency should examine whether combined exposures to chemicals known as phthalates could cause adverse health effects in humans, says a new report from the National Research Council.
