Scientists from the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA) in Vienna, Austria, have discovered how an embryo's genomic integrity is safeguarded during the first 24 h after fertilization. Insights into this mechanism have implications for improving in vitro fertilization. The events triggered when sperm meets an egg are not only life changing for the parents but

Bearing a child at an older age does not increase risk of birth defects when the woman has received IVF or ICSI treatment to become pregnant, a recent study suggests. "The implications are quite profound because the age of first birth is increasing for women around the world,' Professor Michael Davies from University of Adelaide,

Female teachers are more likely to conceive during IVF treatment than their peers of a similar age in similarly paid professions, research shows. The study of more than 1000 women undergoing IVF treatment in the USA also showed that those employed in investment banking and engineering had the worst chances of successful treatment. This was

The World Health Organisation (WHO) is considering making changes to the definition of infertility to recognise that every individual has the 'right to reproduce'. Currently the WHO defines infertility as a disability and 'a disease of the reproductive system defined by the failure to achieve a clinical pregnancy after 12 months or more of regular