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UK Wedding News

15/09/2014

Study Aims To Further Infertility Understanding

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have said they have made a "key discovery" about how egg and sperm cells are formed.

They added that the discovery could help with understanding some infertility and birth defects that occur.

Using genetic manipulation and advanced laser microscopy techniques to study cell division, the team carried out the experience in yeast. It allowed the study to focus on a vital process that takes place as reproductive cells divide, and genes are separated into 'packages' known as chromosomes.

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The scientists claim a key molecule fuses together a pair of chromosomes until they are ready to separate and help form a new cell. As a result, the molecule, known as monopolin, prevents the premature separation of chromosomes.

The discovery, the scientists have said, could now aid in the understanding of what happens when eggs or sperm with the wrong number of chromosomes are made. An incorrect number of chromosomes can lead to infertility, miscarriages and birth defects.

Dr Adele Marston, School of Biological Sciences at the University of Edinburgh, commented: "Our findings may help our understanding of associated health conditions.

"Production of healthy egg and sperm cells is a precisely choreographed and elaborate process. Mistakes in this sequence can cause many problems, which are not well understood. Our findings help explain a key step in this sequence."

The findings have been published in the journal Science and was carried out by a team of scientists from the University of Edinburgh and the University of Washington.

(JP/MH)

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"Scientists at the University of Edinburgh have said they have made a "key discovery" about how egg and sperm cells are formed."