Nature takes a look at in-vitro fertilization's past, present and future

Darkfrog submitted, created time 4 months 3 days (www.nature.com)

This article is a comprehensive look at the past and future of artificial babymaking. It covers IVF, the possible use of iPS to make gametes. It covers ethics, public relations, and economics...

The part that I like best? IVF has "gone as far as it can" with regards to what it can do, so the next focus is on making it cheaper. The article discusses the woman in a developing country who, on top of her own wishes for a family, faces discrimination for her infertility

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Size of a woman's uterus predicts whether she is at risk of having very premature twins after IVF

kavin submitted, created time 4 months 1 week (www.news-medical.net)

Using ultrasound to measure the height of a woman's uterus is a good way to predict whether or not she is at risk of having babies born prematurely if she becomes pregnant with twins after IVF, according to new research presented at the 24th annual meeting of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona.

Dr

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A drive to lower the incidence of multiple births in fertility treatments

Darkfrog submitted, created time 9 months 2 days (www.nytimes.com)

Doctors employing in vitro fertilization tend to implant several healthy embryos in the hopes that at least one will end up as a full-term healthy baby. However, this technique often leads to multiple births. Women carrying three or more children have a dramatically increased risk of health problems, premature birth and miscarriage, to the point where doctors often recommend "reducing," or selectively aborting one of the fetuses once it becomes apparent that triplets or more are on the way

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Kids conceived by IVF may be taller than others

Scarlett submitted, created time 1 year 4 months (www.sciam.com)

Children born as a result of in vitro fertilization (IVF) appear to be slightly taller than naturally conceived children.

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Many couples choose to donate surplus embryos for stem cell research

BIOBOSS submitted, created time 1 year 6 months (www.eurekalert.org)

Nearly 50% of couples who were interviewed at least 3 years after undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) chose to donate their surplus, stored embryos for stem cell research, according to a report by the Spanish Stem Cell Bank in an April 26, 2007, advanced online publication of Cell Stem Cell, a new publication of Cell Press in affiliation with the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

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