U.S. researchers have found a way to turn embryonic stem cells into the cells that make eggs and sperm, which will give insight into a stage of early development that, until now, has been unable to be studied closely.

In female cancer patients of reproductive age, radiation treatment directly to the ovaries should be avoided because there is a direct relationship between certain types of radiation therapy and fertility problems, according to a review in the April 1 issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology*Biology*Physics, the official journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology.

Genes taken from fireflies and jellyfish are literally shedding light on possible causes of infertility and autoimmune diseases in humans.

Obese women have alterations in their ovaries which might be responsible for an egg's inability to make an embryo, according to a new study accepted for publication in The Endocrine Society's Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism (JCEM).

Researchers at the UCLA School of Public Health have found the first evidence that perfluorinated chemicals, or PFCs — chemicals that are widely used in everyday items such as food packaging, pesticides, clothing, upholstery, carpets and personal care products — may be associated with infertility in women.

Endometriosis is a poorly understood chronic disease characterized by infertility and chronic pelvic pain during intercourse. It affects between 5 to 10 million women in the U.S.

For many women, including the growing number who choose later-in-life pregnancy, predicting their biological clock's relation to the timing of their menopause and infertility is critically important.

Long established medical interventions to help couples with infertility problems do not seem to improve fertility, according to a study published on bmj.com today.

After 30 years of IVF, the rewards of treatment are still largely confined to industrialised countries and those who can afford it. Now, a Special Task Force of ESHRE has set about the immeasurable task of making fertility treatment more accessible to developing countries through a programme of pilot projects, professional awareness and involvement of government and non-governmental agencies.

For almost 30 years - since the world's first "test-tube" baby was born in July 1978 - the benefits of modern infertility treatments have been largely confined to couples in developed countries.

Scientists at the University of Liverpool have found that field mice have evolved a unique way of ensuring faster fertilisation, a phenomenon which could explain some cases of infertility in humans.

Researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) suggest epigenetics, or the way DNA is processed and expressed, may be the underlying cause for male infertility. The study will be published in the Dec. 12 issue of Public Library of Science One.