We Can Grow Human Eggs in the Lab: Docs

Doctors fear predatory lending for in vitro procedures

(NEWSER) - Poor economy or not, families want children—and with bank credit tight, a specialized industry is reaping the benefits. "Fertility finance" firms provide loans for in vitro fertilizations, which regularly cost more than $20,000. The business looks set to soar this year, insiders tell the Wall Street Journal . It's "pretty much a recession-proof business, since the biological clock doesn't stop," says an executive with a fertility-clinic operator. More»

Infants born this year will be lucky, successful, wanna-be parents believe

(NEWSER) - The dragon is one of the luckiest and most powerful signs in the Chinese zodiac, and people born in the year of the dragon—which runs from today to Feb. 9, 2013—are supposed to be strong and successful. So many Chinese and Chinese-Americans are going to extraordinary lengths to ensure they have a baby born this year, reports the Wall Street Journal . One Los Angeles-based fertility clinic says it has seen a 250% increase in business in January from people of Chinese heritage, and an egg-donation clinic in Beverly Hills has also seen a 250% jump in egg contracts. More»

Promotion for transatlantic service sparks controversy

(NEWSER) - A London fertility clinic has sparked controversy with a raffle sidestepping British laws by offering women a chance to win an American egg of their choice. Paying egg donors more than expenses is illegal in Britain, but the clinic is offering to fly the winner—who will be allowed to select an egg based on the donor's race, upbringing, and profession—to the US for treatment, the Daily Mail reports. More»

(NEWSER) - Some couples are unable to conceive because the woman's eggs screen his sperm for DNA quality and give it a thumbs down, the Independent reports. Scientists in Britain and the US have spotted this "lock-and-key" mechanism in which eggs "read" sperm's DNA, most of which is tightly packed inside. If tests are developed, this research could help couples understand their infertility and ensure the success of vitro fertilizations. More»

Lawmakers seek to cap number of embryos

(NEWSER) - Lawmakers in Georgia have introduced a bill to ban some of the fertility procedures that gave Nadya Suleman her octuplets, reports the Wall Street Journal. The bill—partly drafted by a state pro-life group—would limit to three the number of embryos that can be implanted in women over 40, and to two in women under 40. Suleman had six embryos implanted. The bill is the most sweeping to date in the wake of the controversial births. More»