Scientists have succeeded for the first time in growing human eggs in a laboratory from the earliest stages in ovarian tissue all the way to full maturity – a scientific step that had previously been taken in mice. Publishing their result in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction on Friday, scientists from Britain and the United States said it could one day help in developing regenerative medicine therapies and new infertility treatments. In previous studies, scientists had developed mouse eggs in a laboratory to the stage where they produced live offspring, and had also matured human eggs from a relatively late stage of development. This latest work, by scientists at two research hospitals in Edinburgh and the Center for Human Reproduction in New York, is the first time human eggs have been developed outside the human body from their earliest stage to full maturity. “Being able to fully develop human eggs in the lab could widen the scope of available fertility treatments. We are now working on optimising the conditions that support egg development in this way and studying how healthy they are,” said Evelyn Telfer, who co-led the work. Independent experts not directly involved in this work praised it as important, but also cautioned that there is much more to do before lab-grown human eggs could be safely be made ready for fertilisation with sperm. “This early data suggests this may well be feasible in the future,” said Ali Abbara, a senior clinical lecturer in Endocrinology at Imperial College London…. [Read full story]
Viet Nam News HÀ NỘI - Hoàng Thị Vân was captured in broad daylight. The 34-year-old woman, accompanied by her aunt, was walking home after a day harvesting beans in the field. Three young men jumped out of nowhere, hit the two with the back of their guns before dragging Vân to a nearby cave. Learning that the police was close behind them, the kidnappers ditched Vân on the mountain, but not before one of them raped her. Vân was saved, but she cannot bring herself to go out to the field again without her husband even two years after…... [read more]
Scientists on Wednesday reported that, in pioneering experiments on human eggs, they had replaced a genetic mechanism blamed for crippling diseases. Other experts praised the work but sounded caution. Described in the journal Nature, the research aims at sidestepping genetic defects handed down by the maternal line through cellular mechanisms known as mitochondria. These are tiny structures that convert fats and sugars to energy for the cell. They only carry a few dozen genes, or about 0.1 percent of the DNA code, and are separate from the nucleus of the cell which contains the remainder. However, when mitochondrial genes carry…... [read more]
The safety breach at a government lab that may have exposed 84 workers to live anthrax centered on a pivotal lapse in procedure: researchers working with the bacteria waited 24 hours to be sure they had killed the pathogens, half the time required by a new scientific protocol. The lab designed to handle extremely dangerous pathogens at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta unknowingly sent live samples of anthrax to labs with fewer safeguards, where the exposure occurred. No one has died or fallen ill but dozens are being treated with a vaccine and powerful antibiotics…... [read more]
Researchers at Harvard University said Tuesday they have started efforts to clone human embryos as a source of valued stem cells, using only private money to bypass federal restrictions on such work. The scientists are studying how embryonic stem cells are programmed, will try to correct defects and then try to return the repaired cells to the body to battle diseases like blood disorders, ALS, known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and diabetes. "Our long-term goal is to create embryonic stem cells from a patient's tissues, correct the genetic defects, and get the repaired cells back into the patients," researcher Dr…... [read more]
WASHINGTON - Fruit seeds stored away by squirrels more than 30,000 years ago and found in Siberian permafrost have been regenerated into full flowering plants by scientists in Russia, a new study has revealed. The seeds of the herbaceous Silene stenophylla plant, whose age was confirmed by radiocarbon dating at 31,800 years old, are far and away the most ancient plant material to have been brought back to life, said lead researchers Svetlana Yashina and David Gilichinsky of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The previous record for viable regeneration of ancient flora was with 2,000-year-old date palm seeds near the…... [read more]
