In recent years, social and cultural trends have resulted in women delaying childbirth, thereby leading to reproductive senescence as a growing public health problem. We discuss potential etiologies for age-related female reproductive decline. We bring supportive evidence to the central role of mitochondrial dysfunction and oxygen radicals in the process of aging in general and reproductive sen...

xanthine oxidase plays crucial roles in the production of reactive oxygen species (ros), and uric acid in blood which may lead to gout, one of the oldest known forms of arthritis amongst humans. summer savory (satureja hortensis l.) a medicinal/spice exhibits antioxidant activity, but unknown effects on xanthine oxidase activity. here, for the first time, we examined the effects of s. hortensis...

Immigration into a new group can produce substantial costs due to resistance from residents, but also reproductive benefits. Whether or not individuals base their immigration strategy on prospective cost-benefit ratios remains unknown. We investigated individual immigration decisions in crested macaques, a primate species with a high reproductive skew in favour of high-ranking males. We found t...

In combination with modem reproductive technologies, there is potential to use frozen and stored germplasm (genetic resource banks) to support conservation measures for the maintenance of genetic diversity in threatened species. However, turning this idea into reality is a complex process, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration and clearly defined goals. As the number of species deserving th...

Recently unintended pregnancies have been described as "a new kind of mid-life crisis." Given the high prevalence of unwanted or mistimed pregnancy in the US, we examined the sexual and reproductive health patterns of sexually active midlife women. An examination of the prevalence of unintended pregnancy among midlife women revealed a gap in data indicating unmet sexual and reproductive health ...

Evolutionary theory predicts that differential reproductive effort and rate of reproductive senescence will evolve under different rates of external mortality. We examine the evolutionary divergence of age-specific reproduction in two life-history ecotypes of the western terrestrial garter snake, Thamnophis elegans. We test for the signature of reproductive senescence (decreasing fecundity with...

A growing body of evidence suggests that reproductive history influences post-reproductive mortality. A potential explanation for this association is confounding by socioeconomic status in the family of origin, as socioeconomic status is related to both fertility behaviours and to long-term health. We examine the relationship between age at first birth, completed parity, and post-reproductive m...

Background: Uterine leiomyomas (fibroids) are now known to be highly variable in their clinical behavior and biologic basis. However, the approach to leiomyomas and their effect on fertility, miscarriage and pregnancy complications has been based on location alone. Materials and Methods: This talk with bring together published information on the effect of leiomyomas on reproductive performance ...