Earlier this week, researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center identified almost 350 genes that may be connected to female fertility. The study was conducted on mice but according to UT’s assistant professor of pathology, “Ovarian biology is very similar in mice and humans.”
UT’s press release actually ups the infertility percentage from the widely used 10% to 13% for women and claims the most common cause is ovarian dysfunction. Now that genes have been identified, next steps include finding out how they interact with each other to control follicle development.
The study was supported by NIH, who also …read more

Sounds like the name of a secret society or a collaboration of sinister characters one might find watching reruns of Alias or the X-Files. It is, in fact, a bold new initiative, funded by the National Institutes of Health, organized by Northwestern University that aims to protect the fertility of women who are undergoing radiation or chemotherapy.
Teresa Woodruff’s statement on www.kaisernetwork.org was music to my ears:
 
When a woman is diagnosed with cancer, the first priority is to save her life, Teresa Woodruff, chief of the Feinberg School’s new fertility preservation division, said. She added that although most women will survive, …read more