Showing posts with label embryo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label embryo. Show all posts
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, October 3, 2010
Scientists Create World's First Laser Pacemaker
Scientists have successfully controlled a living creature's heart with a laser beam, taking a first step towards technology that could prevent serious heart defects. The procedure used pulses of light to pace the heart of a two-day old quail embryo.
The research team, headed by Michael Jenkins at Case Western Reserve University, stuck a small laser only a millimeter away from the embryo's heart, and believe the resulting light pulses created a temperature gradient that spurred muscle contractions. By showing that lasers can regulate an organism's heartbeat without damaging tissue, scientists could someday create human pacemakers that don't require invasive surgery or heart-weakening electrodes. As well, Jenkins points out that a regular heartbeat means a healthier heart down the line, meaning laser pacemakers could someday be an effective preventative tool. It'll take a while to work our way from quail embryos to humans, but this is a breakthrough nonetheless.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
More evidence ties smoking, decreased fertility
If you're looking to make a baby, you might want to put out your cigarette before getting down to business: There's now more evidence linking smoking with decreased fertility in men and women — and their offspring.
A new study shows smoking by women during early pregnancy reduces the number of germ cells in the embryo. Germ cells later develop into eggs or sperm, so this reduction has the potential to reduce the baby's future fertility.
And men who smoke develop an imbalance in their levels of a protein, called protamine, that is vital to sperm fertility, another new study suggests.
The findings fall in line with past studies on the effects of smoking and secondhand smoke on fertility, researchers say. Research from the University of Buffalo in 2005 showed male smokers' sperm had a more difficult time binding to an egg than non-smokers' sperm. And research from the University of Rochester in 2008 showed that women who had been exposed to secondhand smoke as children or young adults were more likely to have trouble getting pregnant.
Germ cell study researcher Claus Yding Andersen of the University Hospital of Copenhagen said more research is needed to demonstrate whether the reductions in germ cells are permanent or are compensated for later in the pregnancy. Either way, he told MyHealthNewsDaily, "If women plan to get pregnant, this should be an incentive to quit smoking."
For male embryos, the number of germ cells was reduced by more than half when their mothers smoked during the first trimester of pregnancy, compared with mothers who didn't smoke at all, said Andersen. For all embryos, the reduction in germ cells averaged 41 percent.
And the more a mother smoked, the greater the reduction in the germ cells of her embryo, he said.
A new study shows smoking by women during early pregnancy reduces the number of germ cells in the embryo. Germ cells later develop into eggs or sperm, so this reduction has the potential to reduce the baby's future fertility.
And men who smoke develop an imbalance in their levels of a protein, called protamine, that is vital to sperm fertility, another new study suggests.
The findings fall in line with past studies on the effects of smoking and secondhand smoke on fertility, researchers say. Research from the University of Buffalo in 2005 showed male smokers' sperm had a more difficult time binding to an egg than non-smokers' sperm. And research from the University of Rochester in 2008 showed that women who had been exposed to secondhand smoke as children or young adults were more likely to have trouble getting pregnant.
Germ cell study researcher Claus Yding Andersen of the University Hospital of Copenhagen said more research is needed to demonstrate whether the reductions in germ cells are permanent or are compensated for later in the pregnancy. Either way, he told MyHealthNewsDaily, "If women plan to get pregnant, this should be an incentive to quit smoking."
For male embryos, the number of germ cells was reduced by more than half when their mothers smoked during the first trimester of pregnancy, compared with mothers who didn't smoke at all, said Andersen. For all embryos, the reduction in germ cells averaged 41 percent.
And the more a mother smoked, the greater the reduction in the germ cells of her embryo, he said.
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