Dr Mark Walker, leader of the study, said this is a novel finding, and that it contradicts the common thought that older parents would be associated with these problems rather than younger ones. He said that this study can help recognize high risk pregnancies, and take actions to avoid any of the issues involved.

The research -the largest involving these questions up to now- studied more than 2.6 million US women in their 20s that became mothers between 1995 and 2000. Those newborns that had teenage fathers had a larger chance -15 %- of being born earlier than expected, were 13 percent more likely to have low birth weight, 17 per cent more likely to be small for gestational age, 13 per cent
more likely to have a low Apgar score (a measure of newborns’ health),
22 per cent more likely to die within the first four weeks, and 41 per
cent more likely to die within the first year.

Dr Shi Wu Wen, one of the specialists collaborating with the study, said that the mechanism that causes this is still not known, but that “regardless of the mechanism, you need to act because this group is in high risk, that´s for sure”.

Other studies performed previously actually show some results in that direction, stating that younger men have lower sperm counts and immature sperm which may contribute to birth problems. Other factors might be sociological: Dr Walker explained that “young fathers may not provide the same social support as older fathers, both financially and in terms of companionship. That may be why these pregnancies are more complicated”.

Some fertility centers in Great Britain are already offering a way of storing ovary tissue from women that have to go through chemotherapy with the speculation that the eggs will mature with further development and be used for IVF (In Vitro Fertilization)

Evelyn Telfer, from the University of Edinburgh, has led the study that made a big step towards growing stored human eggs. By adding artificial hormones in the laboratory, the eggs have grown and developed in the follicles.

With further research, Tefler stated, the eggs can get to be fully mature using this same technique, and use them for assisted reproduction procedures. This can also mean a faster development in egg growth, since with this method, it only took 10 days for an egg to mature.

Moreover, the technique that Tefler developed makes it possible for the procedures to be held without women having to take hormone injections, with the danger of over-production of eggs it carries.

Via | Hindu

The student, Aliza Shvarts,had said that she had inseminated herself “as often as possible” and then took herbal substances to induce an abortion. She had said that she would videotape her miscarriages and include a spoken section to explain what she had done.

Helaine Klasky, Yale´s spokeperson, stated that Shvarts admitted that she hadn´t impregnated herself and did not induce any miscarriages. Klasky added that the “entire project is an art piece, a creative ficion designed to draw attention to the ambiguity surrounding form and function of a woman´s body”.

Via | Ap/Google

The study was done by scientists at the Western Australian Institute for Medical Research (WAIMR) and The University of Western Australia’s School Of Population Health.

The research included more than 1200 women, graduates from an Australian veterinary schools over a 40-year period, and showed the occupational dangers of x-rays, anaesthetic gases and pesticides: they can have serious influence on pregnancy and fertility.

Professor Lin Fritschi, a WAIMR Associate, said that findings “showed that female veterinarians exposed to an hour or more of anaesthetic gases or exposed to pesticides during the course of their duties were twice as likely to miscarry during pregnancy”.

Also, they found out that two thirds of the female veterinarians surveyed spent five or more hours a week in an operating suite or recovery room area, and many of them (close to a quarter) did not wear any protection and were completely exposed to the gases.

Professor Fritschi stated that women should be aware that protection is necessary and that can be achieved by wearing the right aprons, ventilating the workplace and minimizing the amount of exposure by using appropriate masks, shoes and gloves.

She concluded that “vets most at risk of dangerous exposures include graduates, vets under 30 years of age, those working in a mixed animal practice and vets working more than 45 hours a week.”

Studying fruit flies, the scientists from University of Southern California, Cal State University in Sacramento and the University of California, Davis, USA, found that even though females choose males who are victorious in fights, they also go for others that do not find and choose them with no apparent reason. This can help understand aggressive behavior in human and other species.

The lead author of the project, Brad Foley (PD fellow at USC) says that “females didn’t necessarily prefer aggressive males – some males mated less when they lost fights, but some mated more if they didn’t fight. Moreover, different males preferred different males”

The investigation showed some genetic variation in aggression in males fruit flies, and say that it also applies to humans. They suggest that a possible reason for this is the fact that no fighting strategy is effective every time, so there is not a clear pattern of aggression.

“We showed in fruit flies that even the most genetically aggressive flies can have an Achilles heel, and lose against males who are (for the most part) wimps,” noted Foley.

The authors actually conclude that “unexpected interactions” between individuals are the ones that define who wins and who loses, so there is not a definitive strategy that would divide winners and losers categorically.

Source | PLoS ONE

The creation of sperm and eggs in laboratory is yet at an early stage, but the Hinton Group, formed by a total of 40 renowned specialists, states that this procedure could be possible in no longer than 15 years. The creation of sperm out of female cells is also possible, but that would take longer, they said.

According to John Harris, professor of bioethichs at the University Of Manchester and member of the Hinton Group, agreed that ministers should not interfere in these investigations.

These announcements were in Britain after the tabling to the amendment to the Government´s controversial Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill, destined to increment the use of “artificial” eggs and sperm in fertility clinics.
The Bill would prevent such eggs beingh given to infertile women. With it, the new technique would be allowed in fertility clinics without further authorization required

On the other hand, Josephine Quintavalle, from the campaign group “Comment on Reproductive Ethics”, stated that the technique would go against natural reproductive process and could lead to genetic problems on the offspring

However, experts have recently suggested that these tests are not really useful, since they cannot determine their quality. Women are actually better off relying on their date of birth to figure out how fertile they are, they claim.

The head of CARE Fertility in Nottingham, Dr Simon Fishel, one of the world’s leading fertility specialists, said that “these kits can make couples unnecessarily worried or misguided into believing that everything is OK. They give a one-dimensional result but that needs to be put in the context of a woman’s medical history by an expert”

The kits measure levels of three hormones, Inhibin A, AMH and FSH. When a woman approaches menopause, the first two hormones´ levels drop, while the FSH rises. The tests can tell how many eggs a woman has left, but cannot show whether the eggs are best for insemination or not, because they cannot tell the quality of eggs: they become less fertile as they grow older. This factor is crucial for women who are trying to get pregnant.

Professor David Baird of Edinburgh University said that “these kits cannot pinpoint the menopause. A woman’s chronological age is a better predictor of fertility”, and that “the main factor when you are trying to have a baby is the quality of the egg. You can have lots of eggs left in the ovaries but they are still no good if they are of poor quality”

Specialists all agree in the fact that the kits are actually “a waste of money” and, that other methods are more reliable. As Dr Fishel put it: “My advice is for a couple to spend their money on seeing a professional. Failing that they should go and have a romantic meal out and a good bottle of wine.”

The study, lead by Dr Jiahuai Han and colleagues, demonstrated that female mice that had substantially lower levels of Dicer than normal mice were infertile. This infertility was caused by a malfunction of the corpus luteum, the structure formed where eggs are released and that is required to maintain early-stage pregnancies.

Having done detailed analysis, the researchers came to the conclusion that this impaired functioning of the corpus luteum was due to the body’s impediment to form new blood vessels, and that this was related with an increased expression of the protein TIMP1, which inhibits blood vessel formation.

By injecting miRNAs miR17-5p and let7b into the ovaries of mice that had low levels of Dicer, they showed a decrease of TIMP1 protein and an increase of blood vessels in the corpus luteum, which lead them to conclude that the development and function of the latter is regulated by miRNAs.

The leader of the program, Dr Julie Kahn is an expert in Naturopathic medicine and a licensed acupuncturist. The method includes acupuncture, detoxification, herbal medicine, cycle charting, dietary and lifestyle plans and a program of natural medicines to protect health against the affects of our modern and chaotic lifestyle. Pollution, poor nutrient levels in soils and foods, toxic farming methods, radiation and heavy metal exposure, weight problems, sugar, caffeine and alcohol abuse and the stress of our way of living all contribute to poorer general health and therefore more fertility problems.

The specialists state that IPM’s program improves sperm count and quality in addition to optimizing egg development and is effective against infertility by itself, or as a supplement to fertility treatments under a reproductive endocrinologist.

“The program is great to use in conjunction with a fertility MD,” said Dr.Kahn. “If a patient is spending thousands of dollars on fertility enhancing treatments, IPM’s Preconception Care program adds extra insurance. It is also good for people who just want to have a healthy experience, or who are not ready to go the traditional medical route of drugs or surgical procedures to increase fertility.”
This type of program has shown to be effective in decreasing miscarriage rate, low birth-weight babies, little to no ear infections and less allergies for the newborns. Moreover, it has proven to diminish labor pains, assist in lowering high blood pressure and nausea, anemia and headaches during pregnancy.

“Preconception Care has proven to be very effective in improving the chances of fertility in women,” added Kahn. “There has been an overwhelming success rate with unexplained infertility that comes from practicing Preconception Care.”

Preconception Care at IPM focuses on couples who want to have a healthier pregnancy and increasing its quality and development. It is not a fertility program itself, but is meant to help and assist reproductive health.