News by Subject Medicine & Health

Male infertility affects around 8-12% of men globally, with over 20 million cases known. Now, researchers at Guangzhou Women and Children's Medical Center, China, led by Na Li and Ling Sun, may be able to offer infertile men a glimpse of hope, after discovering a new protein that controls male fertility in mice. These findings, published in the journal Development, pinpoint a new potential target to treat the underlying causes of male infertility in humans.

New findings from the University of Minnesota Medical School are helping uncover why some people are more likely to be overweight and develop Type 2 diabetes -- and it starts in the womb.

Pregnancy disorders are usually diagnosed during the second or third trimester of gestation when they have often already had a serious impact on the health of the mother and baby. The current methods to diagnose pregnancy disorders are not sensitive or reliable enough to identify all at risk pregnancies. Now scientists have found a way to test hormone levels in the placenta to predict which women will have serious pregnancy complications.

A study of the associations between drinking alcohol and the chances of becoming pregnant suggests that women who want to conceive should avoid heavy drinking. In the second half of menstrual cycle even moderate drinking is linked to reduced chances of pregnancy. The study is published in Human Reproduction journal.

The COVID-19 shutdown initially seemed to hit pause on pregnancy and birth rates, new research from one major hospital system suggests, but that trend is quickly reversing.

Zebrafish exposed to the leading cannabinoids found in cannabis in the earliest stages of development suffer a significant drop in neural activity later in life, according to a University of Alberta study that has implications for prenatal development in humans.

Researchers at Linköping University in Sweden have developed an app to help women achieve a healthy weight gain and lifestyle during a pregnancy. The results from an evaluation of the app have now been published in two scientific articles. Using the app contributed to a better diet. Pregnant women with overweight or obesity who received the app also gained less weight during pregnancy.

Interviews with primary care providers showed support for removal of the FDA's mifepristone Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy, which prevents pharmacists from dispensing the drugs needed for medication abortions.