Fertilization News and Research

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Cells with “Jumping Genes” Self-Destruct in the Early Stages of Development

A previously unknown type of cell that self-destructs within days of forming as part of a quality control procedure to protect the growing fetus has been found by researchers studying gene activity data of the early human embryo.

21 Jun 2023

Stem Cell Zoo Uncovers Scaling Laws Governing Species-Specific Development

Pregnancy last around nine months in humans, only 20 days in mice, and up to 17 months in rhinoceroses. Even though many mammalian species go through the same phases of embryo development, the rate of development varies greatly between animals.

21 Jun 2023

Nitrogen Uptake by Corn From Fertilizer is Less Than What Farmers Think

Corn growers seeking to increase the amount of nitrogen taken up by their crop can adjust many aspects of fertilizer application, but recent studies from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign show those tweaks don’t do much to improve uptake efficiency from fertilizer.

6 Jun 2023

Researchers Use the Bionanoprobe to Explore Role of Zinc in Follicle Development

The discovery that zinc is involved in the fertilization process earlier than initially thought was made with the help of the Bionanoprobe, a cutting-edge instrument at Argonne.

18 May 2023

NIH Common Fund Selects New York Genome Center as Multi-Grant Recipient Under SMaHT Network

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Common Fund has selected the New York Genome Center (NYGC) as a multi-grant recipient under the Somatic Mosaicism across Human Tissues (SMaHT) Network.

15 May 2023

Researchers Generate Largest Atlas of Post-Zygotic Genome Mutations in Human Tissue Researchers Have ...

Researchers have created the largest atlas of post-zygotic genome mutations in healthy human tissue ever assembled -; a scientific advancement that could unlock new avenues for diagnosing and treating genetic disease.

17 Apr 2023

Research Proposes a Totally New Way to Think About Agriculture

On November 15, 2022, the 8 billionth person on the planet was born. With concerns about food security on the rise, experts are asking: how will we feed everyone? Climate change, natural resource depletion, soil erosion, and fossil fuel use in farming make the task even more challenging. We need to do something differently, but what?

13 Apr 2023

Study Reveals a Unique Mode of Reproduction that Produces Chimeric Males in Yellow Crazy Ants

Male yellow crazy ants (Anoplolepis gracilipes) are chimeras of two separate genetic lineages, researchers report in a study that reveals a unique mode of reproduction in this species – one previously unknown to science.

7 Apr 2023

Male Beetles Neglect Maintenance of Gametes When Competing for Mating Opportunities

Male beetles face a trade-off between competing with other males for mating opportunities and repairing damage to their sperm DNA, according to a study publishing April 4th in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Mareike Koppik from Uppsala University, Sweden, and colleagues.

5 Apr 2023

Deactivating mosquito sperm to control populations of Culex

New UC Riverside research makes it likely that proteins responsible for activating mosquito sperm can be shut down, preventing them from swimming to or fertilizing eggs.

22 Mar 2023

Deciphering the mechanisms used by a fungus to increase iron acquisition

The University of Cordoba discovered how the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhiziumbrunneum increases iron acquisition in melon and cucumber.

15 Mar 2023

Robust method for induced pluripotent stem cell culture

Different types of cells, such as the heart, liver, blood, and sperm cells, have characteristics that help them perform their specific functions in the body. In general, those traits are hard-wired. A heart cell will not randomly transform into a liver cell if not stimulated.

23 Feb 2023

U.S. people show interest in using genetic technologies to improve offspring education

An article published today in the journal Science indicates that a substantial proportion of Americans are willing to use an essentially unregulated reproductive genetic technology to increase the chances of having a baby who is someday admitted to a top-100 ranked college.

10 Feb 2023

“Reference Epigenome” and regulatory mechanisms in wheat embryogenesis

One of the most basic and amazing processes that occur in both plants and animals is embryogenesis. It is incredible that, within a matter of weeks after fertilization, a single mother egg cell can transform into a living thing with a complex body structure.

6 Feb 2023

New insights into the regulatory mechanisms of cell fate decisions

The Babraham Institute’s Reik lab’s study has improved the understanding of the function of DNA methylation during the early stages of development.

29 Sep 2022

Excess carbon in the atmosphere has increased wood volume of forests

Trees have long been known to buffer humans from the worst effects of climate change by pulling carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Now new research shows just how much forests have been bulking up on that excess carbon.

28 Sep 2022

The biological advantages of sperm swimming in groups

Sperm actually swim better together when they are swimming against the current. Contrary to common belief, spermatozoa frequently cooperate to go through the female reproductive system in a variety of mammalian species, contradicting the notion that the fastest and fittest male reproductive cell wins the fertilization race.

22 Sep 2022