Reproduction in Biological News

Parasitic worms make sex worthwhile

... for the snail, whose females favor asexual reproduction in the absence of parasites, say Indiana ... Queen Hypothesis" of sex, which suggests sexual reproduction allows host species to avoid infection by their ... biologists have long wondered why clonal reproduction does not replace ...

Sex involved in plant defense

... the research paper. "The variation in sexual reproduction has a large impact on the ability of plants to ... Though there are short-term benefits to asexual reproduction populations can grow more rapidly and propagate ... long-term disadvantage. "In the end, asexual reproduction appears to be an evolutionary dead-end." ...

Women with endometriosis need special care during pregnancy to avoid risk of premature birth

... conference of the European Society of Human reproduction and Embryology heard today (Wednesday July 1). ... is published on-line in the journal Human reproduction today*. The researchers investigated the ... between adverse pregnancy outcome, assisted reproduction technology (ART), and a previous diagnosis of ...

Environmental cues control reproductive timing and longevity, University of Minnesota study shows

... When humans and animals delay reproduction because food or other resources are scarce, they ... population declines, causing them to delay reproduction until the decline has occurred, when each ... between current and future reproduction, delaying reproduction can be a good idea, even if it reduces the number ...

Size did matter

... research has revealed fossilised evidence for reproduction using giant sperm in a group of small aquatic ... It seems to be an evolutionarily successful reproduction strategy, even though it comes at an exceedingly ... international team is to understand why and how reproduction with giant sperm has persisted for so long. ...

Stress puts double whammy on reproductive system, fertility

... peptide (RFRP), puts the brakes on reproduction by directly inhibiting GnRH. The common thread ... GnIH as being a big player in the inhibition of reproduction in mammals," said co-author George Bentley, UC ... very adaptive to not be wasting resources on reproduction during times of acute stress, to just shut ...

Is this the beginning of the end of plant breeding?

... do things differently. The advantage of clonal reproduction is that it produces an individual exactly like an ... the lottery of sexual reproduction. Clonal reproduction of crop species took a step closer to being ... Thus the authors have made a form of asexual reproduction possible in a normally sexual species. Turning ...

NIH funds research center for women's reproductive health at Einstein

... a Specialized Cooperative Center Program in reproduction and Infertility Research (SCCPIR).One of only 13 ... to pursue research in high priority areas of reproduction and infertility research. Einstein's SCCPIR ... understanding the basic biology of fertility and reproduction in animal models. This funding will help us ...

Attitudes towards assisted reproduction and preimplantation genetic diagnosis

... citizens in advanced societies view assisted reproduction techniques in general and in vitro fertilization ... due to problems of fertility: 1) use assisted reproduction or in vitro fertilization techniques, 2) adopt a ... chose either adoption or the use of assisted reproduction techniques, with only a small percentage most in ...

Old flies can become young moms

... doubt on the old notion of a tradeoff between reproduction and longevity. Popular wisdom and scientific ... system. Stem cell activity declines with age, and reproduction in older flies could not happen without a return ... against any kind of obligatory tradeoff between reproduction and lifespan," Tower said. ...

Biologists discover gene behind 'plant sex mystery'

... process employed by plants to control sperm cell reproduction was found to make use of an ancient mechanism ... in each pollen grain and thus ensures successful reproduction in flowering plants. "This discovery is a ... the evolutionary origins of flowering plant reproduction and may be used by plant breeders to control ...

NTP finalizes report on Bisphenol A

... opinion on BPA's potential to cause harm to human reproduction or development. The conclusions are based ... NTP Center for the Evaluation of Risks to Human reproduction (CERHR) conducted the BPA evaluation. The CERHR ... substances, or mixtures cause adverse effects on reproduction and development and provide opinion on whether ...

New master switch found in the brain that regulates appetite and reproduction

... says. The hormone also is known to play a role in reproduction - although, until this study, no one understood ... do not have periods.) "Controlling appetite and reproduction together provides a big evolutionary advantage," ... more food is not needed, and KISS1, signaling reproduction can now commence in this well-fed body. ...

A special issue of the International Journal of Plant Sciences

... patterns and gender strategies, and asexual reproduction and polyploidy. The focus of the volume is on ... diversity. In the final section, Asexual reproduction and Polypoidy, Jonathan Silverton begins by evaluating the costs and benefits of asexual and sexual reproduction in plant species that have both reproductive ...

A genetic identity card for Plasmodium populations to improve control strategies

... between mosquito vectors, associated with a reproduction regime combining genetic mixing and selfing. A ... This study also proved that the parasites overall reproduction strategy is the same in the two vector species ... only slightly the efficiency of the parasites reproduction strategy which could then merely switch to the ...

Men shed light on the mystery of human longevity, study finds

... to understand why humans don't die when female reproduction ends. Human ability to scale the so-called ... will remain invisible to natural selection after reproduction ends." However, in hunter-gatherer societies, ... to figure out how they match up. We care about reproduction because that is a currency by which force of ...

ICSI or IVF: Babies born from frozen embryos do just as well

... in 1992, told the 25th annual meeting of the European Society of Human reproduction and Embryology in Amsterdam today (Monday) that she and her colleagues had ... as part of fertility treatment has become a fundamental part of assisted reproduction technology. We found no differences in the ability of embryo generated by ...

Who goes abroad for fertility treatment and why?

... launched at the 25th annual conference of the European Society of Human reproduction and Embryology today (Monday June 29). Study co-ordinator Dr. Franoise ... women were single. The majority of respondents were seeking assisted reproduction treatment (ART) only (73%) as opposed to 22.2% intrauterine insemination ...

Yeast missing sex genes undergo unexpected sexual reproduction

... which have a sexual cycle were missing many of the genes related to reproduction found in other species. "The unrecognized sex cycle could mean we need ... sexual reproduction," Reedy said. "This provides a new way to study sexual reproduction and how chromosomal abnormalities arise." Heitman said that Candida 's ...

Old stain in a new combination

... fever or anemia; children in particular can even fall into a coma. During reproduction in the human body, some parasites develop into special reproductive cells, ... the Anopheles mosquito. Common malaria drugs known as artemisinins block reproduction of the parasites in the human body and reduce the number of gametocytes in ...

Drugs needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages

... AUGUSTA, Ga. Cryoprotectants needed to preserve eggs for reproduction need to be given in stages, albeit rapid ones, say scientists who have ... Dr. Eroglu and his colleagues report in the April issue of Molecular reproduction & Development . All of the drugs worked best when used incrementally: ...

Reef boom beats doom

... tissue. Recovery of corals is usually thought to depend on sexual reproduction and the settlement and growth of new corals arriving from other reefs. This study demonstrates that for fast-growing coral species asexual reproduction is a vital component of reef resilience" says Dr Sophie Dove, also from ...

Genes from tiny marine algae suggest unsuspected avenues for new research

... finding was that Micromonas contains genes associated with sexual reproduction (as opposed to simply dividing into two cells asexually). As Worden says, ... field. Then we could try to figure out the conditions triggering sexual reproduction and the ecological avenues it opens for Micromonas . In addition, if we ...

Is love at first sight real? Geneticists offer tantalizing clues

... They found that despite observed differences in mating behaviors and reproduction activities in females mated to different strains of males, there were only ... the groups. This suggests that genetic changes involved in mate choice and reproduction were in place before mating began. "It appears that females really do ...

Drug used to treat skin conditions is a marine pollutant

... use form a mixture in the ocean that has a direct impact on the growth and reproduction of organisms", says scientist Tobias Porsbring. When Euorpean ... are important in several functions in the algal cells. The growth and reproduction of the algae are disturbed. Single-cell microalgae are the fundamental ...

Crickets may predict human survivability during global warming

... that fuses global warming models with a biological model that predicts the reproduction patterns of the striped ground cricket, also known as the Allonemobius ... preliminary data. Winterhalter chose crickets because their life and reproduction cycles are triggered by temperature cues. When it gets colder, they lay ...

UGA study may give hope that ivory-billed woodpeckers still around

... Mattsson considered plausible ranges of initial population size, reproduction rates and adult survival rates to play games of "what if" with simulated ... hope that they're still out there," and shows that sufficient levels of reproduction and survival are as important, if not more important, than large numbers ...

As super-predators, humans reshape their prey at super-natural speeds

... smaller in body size than previous generations, and their age of first reproduction is on average 25 percent earlier, according to Darimont, a postdoctoral ... changes, a process called plasticity. For example, shifts to earlier reproduction can occur because of an abundance of food being shared by a much smaller ...

Vitamin D found to fight placental infection

... In a paper available at the online site of the journal Biology of reproduction , a team of UCLA researchers reports for the first time that vitamin D ... infection-associated cell death. The significance of vitamin D in human reproduction has been recognized for the past 20 years, although its exact role has not ...

Depression during pregnancy can double risk of preterm delivery

... study is published online in the Oxford University Press's journal Human reproduction on behalf of the European Society of Human reproduction and Embryology. The study found that pregnant women with symptoms of ...

September 2008 Biology of Reproduction highlights

... In an article on p. 546 of the September 2008 issue of Biology of reproduction , Feng et al. take the approach of comparing the nuclear proteome of two ... In a paper on p. 578 of the September 2008 issue of Biology of reproduction , Veras and coworkers present evidence that the effects of urban air ...

Sex and lifespan linked in worms

... published in Nature online on July 23, represent the first time that reproduction and lifespan have been linked through so-called small molecules. ... work isn't fully understood yet, but scientists have long known that reproduction and lifespan are related - if an organism can be made to live longer, it ...

Failure of the 1st attempt at assisted reproduction justifies at least 1 additional cycle

... into the effect of age and the number of times women undergo assisted reproduction technology (ART) shows that for younger women, the overwhelming majority ... Simon Hong told the 24th annual meeting of the European Society of Human reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona today (Tuesday): "The purpose of this study ...

Embryo biopsy does not affect early growth and risk of congenital malformations in PGD/PGS babies

... Bonduelle, told the 24th annual meeting of the European Society of Human reproduction and Embryology in Barcelona today (Tuesday): "These findings are very ... that are known to be present more frequently in mothers after assisted reproduction technology," said Prof Bonduelle. "Mothers and fathers of SC babies were ...

Eliminating germline lengthens fly lifespan, Brown study shows

... For more than 50 years, scientists have known that there is a link between reproduction and lifespan, said Thomas Flatt, a postdoctoral research fellow in the ... Biology at Brown and the lead author of the research article. When reproduction is delayed, animals live longer. Why? Our research suggests that signals ...

Wild chimpanzees appear not to regularly experience menopause

... at a similar pace to the decline in survival probability, whereas human reproduction nearly ceases at a time when mortality is still very low," the researchers ... life span without complementary extended reproduction. "Why hasn't reproduction kept pace with the general increase in human longevity" It may be because ...

Living fossils have hot sex

... University of Utah scientists discovered a strange method of reproduction in primitive plants named cycads: The plants heat up and emit a toxic odor ... female cones so the plants are pollinated. The unusual form of sexual reproduction used by some species of cycads primeval plants known as living fossils ...

Sex in the Caribbean: Environmental change drives evolutionary change -- eventually

... Tropical Research Institute and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. The fossil record shows that if a species could shift from clonal to sexual reproduction it survived. Otherwise it was destined for extinction, millions of years later. Closure of the Isthmus of Panama involved a protracted sequence of ...

Stress signals link pre-existing sickness with susceptibility to bacterial infection

... will result in a better power supply. Researchers now show that the stress-signal associated with mitochondrial disease facilitates the growth and reproduction of the lung-infecting bacteria, Legionella . Cells with mitochondrial disease increase their production of a signaling protein called ...

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis may pose neurological risks

... of PGD in mice suggests that this procedure may increase risks of weight gain and memory decline in adulthood. PGD is used alongside assisted reproduction technologies to ensure couples that may be carriers of genetic disease (e.g. Ashkenazi Jews who have a high incidence of Tay-Sachs among their ...