Semen in Biological News

First at-home test for vasectomized men proves to be safe, accurate

... to evaluate a cohort of 144 post-vasectomy semen samples. The test achieved an accuracy rate of 96 ... to the World Health Organization Manual on semen Analysis, normal sperm counts range from ... Traditionally, the process has involved bringing semen samples to a physician's office or laboratory at ...

Building a better bee

... with pure Carnica. Now I can." Cobey imported semen from Germany in 2006 and again this year to make ... Animal Plant Health Inspection Service to import semen for a three-year period, 2008 to 2010, from three ... and one from Turkey. To assure that the imported semen carries no diseases, the scientists established a ...

Obese men have less semen, more sperm abnormalities, and should lose weight before trying for a baby

... time of abstinence from sex prior to producing a semen sample for analysis, they looked for a relationship between BMI and semen quality. The analysis showed that the men in ... those in the other groups. They also had higher semen volume. There was no significant difference ...

Diabetes linked to male infertility; excess sugars in the body have direct effect on sperm quality

... at a molecular level." The scientists studied semen samples from men with diabetes who were receiving ... On initial routine microscopic examination the semen samples appeared normal, apart from a slight ... adding that this is not part of a routine semen analysis. "Sperm RNA was significantly altered, ...

For honey bee queens, multiple mating makes a difference

... which a queen mates is 12. The queen stores the semen from her mating flights for the remainder of her ... have mated multiple times and accumulate more semen might be more valuable to a colony. But Tarpy ... conditions. Some queens were inseminated with the semen from one drone, others with ...

USC researchers explore genetic causes for male infertility

... our knowledge that a broad epigenetic defect is associated with abnormal semen development, says Rebecca Sokol, M.D., MPH, professor of obstetrics and ... are inherited from one generation to the next. The researchers studied semen samples from male members of couples attending an infertility clinic. ...

Improving livestock productivity in Honduras

... are well-equipped and efficiently dedicated to accomplish these tasks. Key IAEA contributions included a real-time PCR machine and equipment for the semen processing laboratory, which greatly boosted Honduras capabilities in disease diagnostics and livestock reproduction. The Agency has also helped ...

Gene discovery could lead to male contraceptive

... families where male infertility that was not part of a syndrome appeared to be inherited. The affected men's infertility was diagnosed with a routine semen analysis. Focusing on a group of genes that have been implicated in male infertility in mice, the researchers found that mutations in both Iranian ...

Flies may reveal evolutionary step to live birth

... insect eggs mature before fertilization. Live birth could result from changes to the male reproductive strategy as well. Proteins found in the semen of the well-known lab fruit fly, Drosophila melanogaster, stimulate egg laying in the female. A modification of these signals could be responsible ...

Fertility treatment in developing countries; a cycle of IVF for less than $200

... two of a three-level approach to treatment proposed by the task force: level one would offer investigation and IUI in a basic health setting (with semen analysis, hormone assays, follicular scanning and ovulation induction); level two would offer IVF (and diagnostic endoscopy) in a dedicated fertility ...

National Zoo giant panda pregnancy update

... to the end of a pseudopregnancy, or false pregnancy, which is common in giant pandas. Zoo scientists artificially inseminated Mei Xiang with semen from the Zoo's male giant panda Tian Tian (t-YEN t-YEN) March 19. Since then, scientists have conducted weekly hormonal analyses on daily urine ...

First successful reverse vasectomy on endangered species performed at the National Zoo

... operated on Minnesota againcompleting the procedure in an hour. Six months later, the Zoo's veterinarians and reproductive scientists collected a semen sample from the horse that indicated the procedure had been a success. "I've always dreamed of using my expertise to contribute in some way to ...

Penn Veterinary Medicine report new strategy to create genetically-modified animals

... had been depleted by fractionated testicular irradiation. Transgenic germ cells colonized recipient testes and produced transgenic sperm. When semen was used for in vitro fertilization, 10 percent of embryos were transgenic. Initially, the team used the established germ cell transplantation ...

Human testis harbors HIV-1 in resident immune cells

... an explanation for the persistence of virus in semen even after effective highly active antiretroviral ... data, 39.5 million people are infected with HIV. semen remains the main means of spreading the virus, ... virus in the blood. The presence of HIV in the semen despite successful HAART has intrigued ....

UK sperm donor crisis

... rejected (85% of those because of sub-optimal semen quality). At the end of the recruitment and ... to increase because of a possible decline in the semen quality in the general UK population." The ... unit is also reviewing its high cut-off rate for semen quality. However, to achieve good freeze-thaw ...

Making Sure Sacred Sheep Don't Become Extinct

... of samples of animal germplasm -- mainly semen and embryos -- to make sure there's enough ... Americans. He is trying to collect 6,000 units of semen from Navajo-Churro sheep, a breed culturally ... it has low value. Blackburn has 1,200 semen samples now from 27 different rams. He hopes to ...

How the environment could be damaging men's reproductive health

... at the effect of two POPs (CB-153 and DDE) on semen in 149 Swedish fishermen, aged between 27 and 67, ... cancer was one of the lowest in Europe and that semen quality in young men was good ?a similar ... These figures are not consistent with the data on semen quality and testicular cancer in the ...

Study defines effective microbicide design for HIV/AIDS prevention

... can act as physical barriers or filters to slow HIV's passage from semen into body tissues, Geonnotti explained. That slowing would give the ... model that simulates the biological interaction between HIV contained in semen and the protective coating that accumulates on the lining of a woman's ...

Vasectomy may put men at risk for type of dementia

... blood-borne infections and poisonous molecules from entering the semen. After a vasectomy, however, the protective barrier is broken and semen mixes into the blood. The immune system recognizes the sperm as invading foreign agents and produces anti-sperm antibodies in 60 to 70 percent of ....

Phthalates now linked to fat, related health risks

... studies have shown consistently that phthalates depress testosterone levels. Recent human studies have found that phthalates are associated with poor semen quality in men and subtle changes in the reproductive organs in boy babies. This connection between phthalates and testosterone helped to establish a ...

Study links high levels of nitric oxide to infertility and sperm DNA damage

... with greater sperm DNA damage, and low concentrations of NO were significantly correlated with better sperm motility." The researchers collected semen samples from 45 infertile patients and 70 healthy sperm donors. Most of the infertile men had low sperm counts or poor sperm motility. They measured ...

New egg freezing technique offers hope to hundreds of women

... to be further investigated by transmission electron microscopy." Professor Arne Sunde, former chairman of ESHRE, said: "Cryopreservation of human semen and embryos has been a routine procedure since the early 1980s, while cryopreservation of mature oocytes has proved to be very difficult. Current ...

Hormonal male contraception reversible after few months for all men

... data provide strong assurance that the previously described efficacy of hormonal male contraceptives is coupled with highly predictable recovery to semen characteristics that are compatible with fertility. These findings thereby increase the promise of new contraceptive drugs allowing men to share more ...