Fertility

Cyborg 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…

Women Aren’t the Only Ones With a “Biological Clock”—Men Lose Fertility as They Age, Too

Women know that menopause can put a “sell by” date on getting pregnant, but common wisdom says that men retain much of their fertility well into old age. That common wisdom is wrong. In an article for the Washington Post, Ana Swanson explains just what that means. Men can certainly keep on making sperm until…

A Man Who Makes Babies–Lots of Babies–But Lives Alone

People who want to start a family but have, for whatever reason, a problem with the sperm half of the equation have options. There are in-vitro methods that get sperm right next to or injected directly inside an egg. There are sperm banks. Some people have friends who are willing to be sperm donors. And…

Menopause May Be the Evolutionary Origin of Romantic Relationships — And Cheating

Menopause is one of the oddest features of human reproductive biology. Not the hot flashes or the forgetfulness, but the fact that older women lose the ability to have babies. Now researchers say that once it appeared, menopause may have had a ripple effect on human mating that helped create the human pair-bond. According to…

We Still Don’t Know Why Men Find Ovulating Women More Attractive

Are you in a public place? Look around. Can you tell whether any of the women you see are ovulating, just by looking at them? Neither can anybody else. But several small studies have suggested that men nevertheless find women’s faces more attractive when they’re most fertile. No one knows what signals the men are…

Are Plastics Making You Infertile?

Recent research into the health effects of the plastic-making chemicals phthalates has reignited concerns about low sperm counts. But the evidence is far from conclusive. Recent research has reignited concerns that exposure to chemicals from plastics might be to blame for low sperm counts in young men. I share the concerns about the high prevalence…

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…

Freezing Your Eggs is Much Harder Than You Realize

We know how to successfully freeze, store, and thaw human sperm. We’re still on a learning curve with human eggs. Abby Rabinowitz’s recent feature at Nautilus explores the all-too limited statistics about how well the process works and the data on why more healthy women are choosing to try it anyway. From the article: For…

How Do Testicles Know When To Stop Making More Sperm?

Every time someone ejaculates, it produces millions of sperm. But the average pair of testicles produces billions of sperm cells over an entire lifetime. Why don’t they create all of their sperm in one go? Answer: Because testicles have a complicated process to avoid running out of sperm and endangering future fertility. Top image: Iqbal…

Only about 2000 babies have been born using cryogenic egg freezing

Egg freezing is about as hot as a women’s reproductive topic can get. But it’s also extremely rare: Only about 2000 humans currently populating the planet can thank this method for their existence. It’s a number that’s surprisingly low for a procedure that’s being so heavily hyped by HR departments and fertility specialists alike. Put…

Egg Freezing Shindigs Are Apparently the New Tupperware Parties

Egg freezing, the nebulous scientific concept that allows families to conceive at their convenience, is getting plenty of attention lately. Now there are even social events women can attend to learn more about this procedure, which is being touted as a way to potentially transform their careers. Behold: The egg-freezing “party.” Behind the snappiest brand—Egg…

These Thermometers Make an Unreliable Birth Control Method Less Sketchy

Women have been manually tracking their cycles for centuries. You’ve likely heard the terms “rhythm method” or “natural family planning” from older generations; today, it’s the more scientifically informed “fertility awareness.” But as far as birth control options go, monitoring certain health cues to help women avoid getting pregnant still gets a bad rap—mostly because…

British scientists have finally figured out how sperm is able to connect with an egg. The process is facilitated by a molecule dubbed Juno, a protein that allows sperm to dock to the surface of an egg. The discovery could introduce new fertility treatments and birth control. The Sanger Institute put together this explainer video:…

Making Designer Babies Was Supposed to Be Just Like Shopping for Seeds

Fears over “designer babies” were common long before we understood the science of genetics well enough to actually produce them. For many, the idea of predetermining a child’s eye color or trying to influence their intelligence or athletic prowess through genetics is the very definition of dystopia. It probably doesn’t help that we once equated…

One Egg Created From Two Mothers Could Prevent Genetic Disorders

Scientists at the Oregon National Primate Research Center have discovered a crazy sci-fi way to possibly prevent genetically-inherited diseases. This sounds pretty unbelievable, but they actually combine the eggs from two different mothers to create one single stronger egg. It already works for mama monkeys; and it could help humans, too. Researchers are trying to…

Mice that eat yogurt have bigger balls, exhibit “mouse swagger”

Researchers have shown that male mice that eat yogurt lug around bigger testicles, inseminate partners faster, and produce more offspring than those who don’t. And yogurt-eating females give birth to larger and healthier litters. The bigger balls also gave the mice what the researchers describe as “mouse swagger,” which is probably the single greatest mental…

Gossypol, the Chemical Commonly Found in Cotton That is Also a Male Contraceptive

We use cotton to make our clothes and underwear — but should we start using a chemical made by cotton to control how we use what is in our underwear? A large study conducted by the Chinese government determined gossypol, a defensive chemical that’s found in cotton, to be an amazingly efficient male oral contraceptive.…

How Eggs Fight Off Tardy Sperm Intruders

During human (or any mammalian) fertilization, if more than one sperm manages to get inside an egg, there are typically no survivors. A violent competition between the two sperm brings the whole kit and caboodle to a tragic end. It’s called polyspermy. And how human eggs avoid it has been pretty much a mystery until…

The First FDA-Approved Home Sperm Count Test Is Now Available (UPDATED)

Have you ever wondered about your sperm count? I know I have, but not enough to go to a doctor’s office and subject myself to an awkward and expensive test. But for a $30 at-home test? I’m in. Close to 50 percent of problems conceiving are the result of male fertility issues, yet men are…

Protect Your Testicles From Technology, Your Future Children Will Thank You

If you dream of spawning a mini me or three one of these days, you might consider keeping that laptop off your lap and curbing your cell phone use just a touch. Don’t panic. No one has proven for sure that technology damages male fertility. But increasing evidence links the heat and/or electromagnetic frequencies coming…