BACKGROUND Fetal sex and maternal age are each known to affect outcomes of pregnancies. The objective of the present study was to investigate the influence of the combination of maternal age and fetal sex on pregnancy outcomes in term and post-term singleton pregnancies. MATERIAL AND METHODS This was a retrospective study on term singleton pregnancies delivered between 2004 and 2008 at the Ch...

Sex determination in mammals is controlled by the Y chromosome located SRY gene. Despite recent advances towards understanding the mechanisms that regulate sex determination in mammals, the expression profile of the SRY protein in human tissues is unknown. To localize the SRY protein and determine its cellular distribution, we prepared monoclonal antibodies (mAb) against the recombinant SRY pro...

A workshop on 'The evolution of sex determination systems' was held at a remote place in the Swiss Alps from 17 to 20 June 2009. It brought together theoreticians and empiricists, the latter ranging from molecular geneticists to evolutionary ecologists, all trying to understand key aspects of sex determination. The topics discussed included the evolutionary origins of sex determination, the div...

cell free dnas (cfdnas) are small fragments of genomic or mitochondrial dna releasing from cells into the blood stream. the presence of cfdna in the human circulatory system has been shown for the first time in 1948 however, the potential clinical applications of cfdna remained unknown until recent progress in detection and quantification of these molecules by sensitive methods. in this paper, ...

The gonads of 107 spontaneous, chromosomal mosaic, day-15 fetal hermaphrodites derived from BALB/cWt strain male mice are described and photographs of seven gonads representative of the major types are presented. There were 16 ovaries, 15 testes, and 183 ovotestes. The ovotestes contained on the average more testicular tissue than ovarian, and the ovarian tissue was more frequently located at t...

The extraordinary diversity of sex-determining mechanisms found in nature is thought to have arisen by the addition, modification or replacement of regulators at the upstream end of the sex-determining pathway. The spread of a novel regulator of sex determination can manifest itself by an evolutionary transition between environmental and genetic sex determination, for example, or between male a...

A combination of analytical and simulation models is used to explore the initial evolution of genic sex determination from polygenic sex determination. Prior studies have indicated that polygenic sex determination is rare or absent in extant species but that it has likely played an important intermediate role in the evolution of other genetic sex-determination systems. This study explores why p...

External male genitalia have rarely been evaluated on fetal ultrasound. Apart from visualization of the penis for sex determination, there are no specific instructions or recommendations scientific societies. This study aimed to review current knowledge about prenatal diagnosis scrotum and internal structures, with discussion regarding technical aspects clinical management. We conducted an arti...