Topic description and stories

Medieval ‘birthing girdle’ parchment was worn during labour, study suggests

10 Mar 2021

Scientists have used emerging proteomic techniques to find traces of ancient vaginal fluid, honey and milk on a rare manuscript from the late 15th...

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Tales from the edge of modern fertilities

15 Dec 2020

A major research project sees sociologists situated at emerging hot spots of reproductive change, investigating the new ‘haves and have-nots’ in our...

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Researchers obtain first ever underwater ultrasound scans of wild reef manta rays

30 Apr 2019

A team of researchers from the University of Cambridge and the Manta Trust has successfully scanned a pregnant wild reef manta ray underwater to...

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‘Mini-placentas’ could provide a model for early pregnancy

28 Nov 2018

Researchers say that new ‘mini-placentas’ – a cellular model of the early stages of the placenta – could provide a window into early pregnancy and...

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Early childhood mortality rates in 1851 (left) and 1911 (right). The highest rates are in red and the lowest in blue.

Online atlas explores north-south divide in childbirth and child mortality during Victorian era

15 May 2018

A new interactive online atlas, which illustrates when, where and possibly how fertility rates began to fall in England and Wales during the...

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Ovum in Cumulus Oophorus, Human Ovary

Greater understanding of polycystic ovary syndrome

29 Sep 2015

A new genetic study of over 200,000 women reveals the underlying mechanisms of polycystic ovary syndrome, as well as potential interventions.

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Faces

Women’s faces get redder at ovulation, but human eyes can’t pick up on it

30 Jun 2015

Past research shows men find female faces more attractive at peak fertility. A new study shows an increased redness of women’s face skin at the most...

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Tiny sperm, big stories

10 Sep 2014

Sperm will take centre stage at a conference in Cambridge later this week as researchers from a wide range of disciplines gather to consider the...

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Family bonds: how does surrogacy impact on relationships?

08 Jul 2013

Preliminary results from a pioneering study at Cambridge University paint a positive picture of the relationships formed between surrogates and the...

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Fall leaves

Who do you think you are?

23 Nov 2012

Each year in the UK over a thousand children are conceived using donor tissue. Many parents find it hard to tell their children that they were donor...

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P.676-1985 William Blake Infant Joy, Songs of Innocence (1789) (detail)

The greatest gift

23 Apr 2012

The first comprehensive study of egg-sharing between women undergoing fertility treatment reveals striking empathy on the part of donors and...

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Sperm approaching egg. Human fertilisation.

Assisted reproduction and family functioning

04 Jan 2011

A longitudinal study is accessing the psychological well-being of children created by assisted reproductive technologies.

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