From exploring ancient ideas of generation to understanding new frontiers in fertility, Cambridge researchers are working across disciplines to study reproduction from multiple perspectives.

"Reproduction matters to us all": latest issue of Horizons magazine

20 November 2020

Professor Kathy Niakan talks about why it’s vital to take a multidisciplined approach to understanding the urgent challenges posed by reproduction today – and introduces our Spotlight on some of this work, highlighted in the latest issue of Cambridge's Horizons magazine.

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...

Surviving birth

10 Dec 2020

Researchers at one of the busiest maternity hospitals in the world aim to help more women survive complications giving birth.

(When) are you going to have children?

01 Dec 2020

The decision about if and when to have children can be one of the most significant many people will ever make. But – for those who have the choice –...

Set up for life

25 Nov 2020

We’re used to the idea that as adults we have some control over our destiny: what we eat and drink and how much we exercise can affect our health...

Fluorescent images showing gene expression in human embryos at early and late stage of pre-implantation development, where blue is each cell of the embryo, green is a cell membrane marker, magenta is a placental gene expression., Credit: None

Placenta is initiated first, as cells of a fertilised egg divide and specialise

23 Sep 2020

The first stages of placental development take place days before the embryo starts to form in human pregnancies. This new finding highlights the...

Prevention of heart disease can start before birth

19 Aug 2020

Mitochondrial therapy in complicated pregnancies lowers the chance of cardiovascular problems in the offspring.

Study suggests embryos could be susceptible to coronavirus as early as second week of pregnancy

05 Aug 2020

Genes that are thought to play a role in how the SARS-CoV-2 virus infects our cells have been found to be active in embryos as early as during the...

Nature’s epidural: Genetic variant may explain why some women don’t need pain relief during childbirth

21 Jul 2020

Women who do not need pain relief during childbirth may be carriers of a key genetic variant that acts a natural epidural, say scientists at the...

Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease

01 Jul 2020

Women who experience high blood pressure during pregnancy are more likely to develop heart disease and heart failure in later life, according to an...

Human embryo-like model created from human stem cells

11 Jun 2020

New ‘gastruloid’ model, created from human stem cells, holds huge potential to understand causes of birth defects and improve disease modelling.

Placenta changes could mean male offspring of older mums more likely to develop heart problems in later life, rat study finds

28 Nov 2019

Changes occur in the placenta in older pregnant mothers leading to a greater likelihood of poor health in their male offspring, a study in rats has...

Women in STEM: Dr Alexis Braun

26 Sep 2019

Dr Alexis Braun is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Genetics. Here, she tells us about the importance of mentors, how her research...

Reproduction