enRICHed Reproduction & Development

IMAGINE a world where you can raise a foetus outside the human body in an artificial womb.

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32998/title/Coming-to-Terms/

http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/32998/title/Coming-to-Terms/

Both the quality and quantity of sperm start to decline earlier than was thought, and older men become more likely to have girls

This remarkable film record of marsupial birth shows mating, the female’s preparation for the birth of her young and, finally, the birth itself. One birth sequence shows the natural behaviour of the mother as the young makes its way, unaided, to the pouch. A second sequence, with the anaesthetised female, shows the moment of birth more clearly and follows the embryo”s long journey up over the fur to the pouch, where it develops as an externalised foetus. The significance of the oestrous cycle and gestation period, egg fertilisation, and the development of the embryo in the uterus, is shown in animated diagrams. Video transcript available here: http://www.csiro.au/news/transcripts/… This video is available for purchase - http://www.publish.csiro.au/pid/3173.htm

A puppy has been born from a frozen embryo for the first time in the Western hemisphere, Cornell University announced on Monday (February 4). The puppy’s successful birth is a hopeful sign for endangered canids, like red wolves and African wild dogs, for which conservation efforts may be aided by similar reproductive technologies.

California has cut it’s teen birth rate in half, thanks to mandatory comprehensive sex education.