Aurora magazine

Throughout her life, a woman's fertility increases and decreases several times. A study by the University of Copenhagen proves this. The discovery could change the way couples approach fertility therapies.

Researchers have mapped the mechanisms that influence female fertility, ranging from menarche to menopause. These mechanisms largely depend on spontaneous chromosomal errors, which vary according to the age of women. To do this, the scientists examined 3,000 egg cells taken from women aged 9 to 43 years. Before the menarche, the egg cells are immature. At this time, a special molecular "glue" holds the chromosomes together. When the oocytes mature, then the chromosomes divide.

The older the woman, however, the more likely it is that the chromosomes separate before time. This makes the egg cell useless or bearer of abnormalities such as Down syndrome. Such a phenomenon is also common among younger girls. In these cases, the oocytes fail to mature sufficiently, which leads to chromosomal errors. As a result, the adolescent period is almost as fertile as that preceding the menopause. When the girl grows up and becomes a young woman, the oocytes also become healthier and the abnormalities diminish. The trend goes on for all twenty years. As 30 years approach, errors start to increase again.

The study shows that fertility has several curves throughout a woman's life. This is a special case in nature: other primates tend to be fertile more or less in the same way, throughout adult life. It may be that poor juvenile fertility serves to prevent pregnancy while the body is still developing.

Source: healthsciences.ku.dk

A team of students from the University of Copenhagen is developing a new way to track female hormones. With a chewing gum. They developed a biosensor that they integrated into a gum. When chewed, the biosensor intercepts estrogen and luteinizing hormone. In this way it identifies the hormonal peaks that precede the ovulation period.

When levels of estrogen or luteinizing hormone peak, the biosensor is activated. As a result, the rubber changes color more or less intensely. In this way those who chew it can use the color of the rubber to understand at what stage of ovulation it is. To do this, just use a special app in development, which will analyze the photos of the rubber loaded on the phone.

The results will also be useful to predict fertile periods in the following months. Chewing gum contains a genetically modified yeast with sequences expressing the hormones involved. Furthermore, it contains binders that change color depending on which genetic sequences are activated. At the moment, one of the major problems is making the yeast survive in the gum for a sufficient period. Later, the researchers will also try to aromatize the gum. The company aims to offer an alternative to current hormonal monitoring tools.

The latter are quite expensive, too much for some people. A chewing gum would instead be economical, easy to use and even accurate. For the moment, however, there are still so many improvements to be made.

Source: 2019.igem.org

The DNA region associated with Huntington's disease expands as the years go by, contributing to the progression of the disease. This was revealed by a study by the University of Glasgow and University College London.

Scientists have analyzed the DNA of two groups of people with the Huntington-related genetic abnormalities. From the observations it emerged that the mutations grow over time and change. The more time passes, the more CAG repeats grow and the worse the disease gets. In some people, however, there were additional AAC breaks. These slowed down the rate at which the repetitions increased, slowing the progression of the disease. For a more in-depth analysis, it emerged that the phenomenon would be connected to particular genetic variants, all associated with the growth of CAG.

The discovery could have enormous implications in the therapeutic field. They could help scientists predict how Huntington's disease will evolve, how severe the symptoms will be and how quickly it will degenerate.

This will also have repercussions on the development of new treatments. Starting from this research, the team is working on ways to reproduce the observed phenomenon. Above all, it is looking for the genes responsible for the severity of the disease, so as to alleviate at least some of the symptoms. To this end, they have developed a new DNA sequencing technique, which will allow us to better observe CAG mutations.

Source: medicalxpress.com

Alcohol damage in pregnancy is now more than known, yet it is often underestimated. Many women are in fact convinced that a glass of wine on special occasions - a toast, a dinner with friends - is all in all safe. This is not the case, and research published in the Journal of Physiology proves it. The consumption of small quantities of alcohol during pregnancy is enough to increase the risk of resistance to insulin in the fetus. As a result, the child is more likely to develop diabetes, especially if it is male.

The scientists tested this on groups of pregnant guinea pigs, giving them small amounts of alcohol. Many of the children exposed to these minimum levels have started to become diabetic at around 6 months of age. Exactly how much alcohol is talked about? Pregnant guinea pigs have reached a maximum percentage of 0.05% of alcohol in the blood. That was enough to raise the insulin levels of the little ones, even in normal living conditions and which did not contribute to the phenomenon. This happened almost exclusively in small males.

The phenomenon seems to specifically affect the male gender, it is not yet known why. It may be that the placenta of male fetuses adapts differently, affecting fetal development. Or it could be the fault of the hormones: estrogens could protect females from insulin resistance. Males, who have far fewer estrogens, would be more vulnerable. However, this deserves some more research.

Source: physoc.org