User:Z3330313

--z3330313 11:14, 2 August 2011 (EST)

1. Identify the origin of In Vitro Fertilization and the 2010 nobel prize winner associated with this technique.'

In Vitro Fertilisation is an ART (Assisted Reproduction technology) technique, used by infertile people. It is a process whereby the egg is fertilised by the sperm outside the body. The first successful IVF baby named Louise Brown was born in1978, the procedure was carried out by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. And in 2010 the Nobel Prize was awarded to Robert Edwards for the development of in vitro fertilisation.

2. Identify a recent paper on fertilisation and describe its key findings.'

"Not all sperm are equal: functional mitochondria characterize a subpopulation of human sperm with better fertilization potential." <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21448461>

This paper proves that not all sperm carry the potential to fertilise an egg. It found that mitochondrial activity plays a major role in the functionality of the sperm. They found that the level of mitochondrial function mirrored sperm quality. In conclusion, whatever the true biological role of sperm mitochondria in fertilization, mitochondrial activity is a clear hallmark of human sperm functionality.

3. Identify 2 congenital anomalies.

-Down syndrome -Cystic fibrosis