Topic: fertility

Scientific American's Science Quickly examines new recommendations highlighting sperm DNA damage as an underrecognized contributor to recurrent miscarriage. Rachel Feltman and Sarah Elizabeth Richards discuss why conventional sperm tests can miss pregnancy-relevant problems and how broader assessment could change fertility care.

The hypothalamus controls diverse homeostatic functions including fertility. Neural episode generators are required to drive the intermittent pulsatile and surge profiles of reproductive hormone secretion that control gonadal function. Studies in genetic mouse models have been fundamental in defining the neural circuits forming these central pattern generators and the full range of in vitro and in vivo optogenetic and chemogenetic methodologies have enabled investigation into their mechanism of action. The seminar will outline studies defining the hypothalamic “GnRH pulse generator network” an