Fertility Enhancement Study

Nature news reports on this new study  about an anti-aging molecule that has improved the fertility of aging mice.  This is a very significant scientific achievement, though not likely to appear on the radar of most academics working in bioethics and science.  I plan to write a new paper, expanding the arguments from this piece, that amplifies the moral significance of a fertility enhancement in today's aging world. 

A sample from the news piece:

The chances of falling pregnant — naturally or with assistive technology such as in vitro fertilization (IVF) — become slimmer with age. This can be traced to reproductive cells in the ovaries called oocytes, which deteriorate and decrease in number throughout life.

A molecule called spermidine — first isolated from sperm but now known to have functions in many types of cell — has been shown to lengthen lifespan in yeast, flies, worms and human immune cells. Increased dietary intake of spermidine has also been linked with reduction of age-related problems in laboratory animals, including cardiovascular disease in mice and cognitive decline in fruit flies. But its effects on ageing oocytes were unclear.

The latest study uncovers the molecule’s potential to address major hurdles in reproductive medicine, says Alex Polyakov, a fertility specialist at the University of Melbourne in Australia. “This research is undeniably groundbreaking.”

Cheers, 

Colin