IVF is a decades-old procedure that has allowed increasing numbers of prospective parents to have children. Evolving legislation may put it under threat.
The technology may be here sooner than we think. But we have so much to discuss first.
A few days after successful fertilization, an embryo becomes a rapidly dividing ball of cells called a blastocyst.
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Scientists can create viable eggs from two male mice. In the wake of CRISPR controversies and restrictive abortion laws, two experts start a dialogue on ethical research in reproductive biology.
There are 5 key reasons why this reform should go ahead.
Assisted reproductive technologies like in vitro fertilization can help expand families, but regulations aren’t consistent across states.
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A pending bill in Colorado would disclose donor information to children and their parents and set limits on how many families can use a single individual’s egg or sperm.
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Parents at risk of passing on genetic disease to their children via mutations in the mother’s mitochondrial DNA could soon use a new IVF-based treatment involving healthy donor mitochondria.
Freezing and storing sperm vials has proved easier than regulating artificial insemination.
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Many people are filing lawsuits after discovering that sperm banks failed to verify information from donors about their medical and personal backgrounds.
Louise Brown, who was the world’s first baby to be born from in vitro fertilization (IVF) in 1978, poses with equipment used in early IVF treatments.
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Naomi Cahn, University of Virginia and Dena Sharp, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
An unknown number of people have lost their dreams of parenthood because of storage disasters at fertility clinics. These experts note poor government oversight and the need for stronger regulation.
For some people, accessing their super early for fertility treatments is their only chance to start or extend their family. And they need better protection.
Warnings of an end to human sperm production have been making headlines recently, now with the added threat of shrinking penises. Is this science or sensationalism?
A computer illustration of a cross-section of a mitochondrion and its internal structure with DNA (gray), ribosomes (light green), granules (yellow) and ATP synthase particles (light blue).
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The nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett has implications for how assisted reproductive technologies, which can prevent the transmission of disease from parents to child, are regulated.
White rhinos owe their name to the Afrikaans word ‘wyd’, meaning wide, which refers to the animal’s wide mouth.
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As more choices become theoretically available to prospective parents, it’s important to understand their rights.
Unhelpful comments can be a source of stress for people struggling with infertility, and can mean that seeking social support can result in more, rather than less, distress.
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Most people don’t intend to be hurtful or insensitive in their conversations with people experiencing infertility — they often just don’t know what to say.
Genetic testing costs around A$700 per embryo.
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Women aged over 35 are sometimes offered genetic testing of their IVF embryos to rule out abnormalities. But it’s expensive and doesn’t increase their chance of a baby. In fact, it could reduce it.
Researchers are developing artificial wombs as we speak. So we need to talk about the pros and cons before science fiction becomes reality.
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Yes, there are pros and cons of this new reproductive technology. But there are many other issues about maternal and child health we need to tackle first.
Adults born via IVF are as healthy as their naturally conceived peers.
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Before the advent of genetic testing, definitions of paternity were primarily social and legal. Science has destabilized these older definitions, but it has not replaced them.
A 12-week-old baby female macaque, named Grady, was born from frozen testicular tissue.
Oregon Health and Science University
Children with cancer not only endure chemotherapy or radiation treatment but they may also face infertility in adulthood. Now a new procedure, just proven in monkeys, may be close to use in humans.
Chinese scientist He Jiankui of Shenzhen claims he helped make the world’s first genetically edited babies.
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