CONTEXT Mutations of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene are associated with distinct ovarian aging patterns. OBJECTIVE To confirm in human in vitro fertilization (IVF) that FMR1 affects outcomes, and to determine whether this reflects differences in ovarian aging between FMR1 mutations, egg/embryo quality or an effect on implantation. DESIGN, SETTING, PATIENTS IVF outcomes were ...

Seeds are important for the preservation and reproduction of wild tulips in situ, but only a few studies have been carried out on their seed morphology germination characteristics. In this study, eight tulip species native to China were used. Their superficial ornamentation, relationship between germination, effects manipulating incubation temperature, coat, gibberellin (GA3) application studie...

The high incidence of chromosome abnormalities in clinically recognised pregnancies is well documented, but experience of these problems at the time of conception is extremely limited. Using donated oocytes from women seeking surgical sterilisation, we have established reliable cytogenetic techniques for chromosome analysis of human pre-embryos. These have resulted in the first report of trisom...

The developmental stages [4] of the chick [5] embryo were examined by Viktor Hamburger [6] and Howard L. Hamilton [7] in ?A Series of Normal Stages in the Development of the Chick Embryo,? published in the Journal of Morphology [8] in 1951. These stages were published to standardize the development of the chick [5] based on varying laboratory conditions and genetic differences. The stages Hambu...

Morphology and cleavage rate remain the mainstay of embryo assessment. However, a number of additional technologies for this application are under investigation. These include the measurement of glucose, lactate, pyruvate or amino acid levels in the embryo culture media, assessment of oxygen consumption by the embryo, genomic and proteomic profiling, and most recently, analytical examination of...

BACKGROUND Sperm chromatin status and nuclear DNA damage can be detected using well-established assays. However, most techniques are time-consuming and/or involve elaborate protocols and equipment. We have recently developed a simple and fast method to monitor sperm chromatin status in field conditions using the Diff-Quik assay which is employed in fertility clinics to assess sperm morphology w...

BACKGROUND The large number (30) of permanent human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines and additional 29 which did not continue growing, in our laboratory at Karolinska Institutet have given us a possibility to analyse the relationship between embryo morphology and the success of derivation of hESC lines. The derivation method has been improved during the period 2002-2009, towards fewer xeno-comp...