But science is beginning to learn that various chemicals in the female reproductive system can facilitate – or sabotage – that sperm’s chance for victory. And it appears to happen at an early stage in ...

The gut-brain axis describes the two-way communication between the neurons that make up the central nervous system, which includes the brain, and the so-called peripheral nervous system, which ...

In a study providing important new insights into the development of the female reproductive tract and fertility, researchers have revealed how the thickness of fluid surrounding the egg can impact the ...

Some animals can produce offspring from an unfertilized egg in an asexual reproduction process known as parthogenesis. When this is the standard process for a species it's said to be 'obligate' and ...

Believe it or not, but ducks have a reputation for the unexpected: bizarre and intricate mating anatomy. According to ...

Mercedes Burns has previously received funding from the National Science Foundation. An Asian water dragon hatched from an egg at the Smithsonian National Zoo, and her keepers were shocked. Why? Her ...

The cellular biology of reproduction is often depicted as an epic journey, in which millions of intrepid sperm fight to be the first to claim the ultimate prize: the chance to fertilize the egg, which ...

One of the immutable truths about being alive is that we age. This happens at every level, down to our cells. When they divide, our cells copy our DNA into each new cell. But as the weeks, months, and ...

During mammalian reproduction, millions of sperm undertake a journey that only one will finish. This journey to fertilization has been commonly viewed as a race: a sea of sperm competing to get to the ...