INNOVATORS
MEET the people that lead the reproductive health industry
reproductive technology companies
Universities in reproductive technology
Pioneers in reproductive technology
The Parsemus Foundation is currently working on a new form of birth control for males. Currently the only methods of birth control for males are abstinence, condoms, and vasectomies. This organization is developing a form of male birth control called Vasagel thats works like a reversible vasectomy. Vasagel works by inserting a solution into the vas deferens which blocks sperm from exiting the body. When the recipient no longer wants to be infertile, the solution is flushed out from the vas deferens with an injection.
Parsemus Foundation
Ferring Reproductive is a company that specializes in making medications for couples that can not conceive a child. Their products include Menopur, Endometrin, and Novarel. These medications are targeted towards women and are made to induce and promote the healthy development and release of eggs. By increasing the amount of eggs, there is a significantly higher chance of fertilization occurring.
Ferring Reproductive Health
Instead of focusing on women's reproductive health like most companies, Proxeed focuses on men's reproductive health. The company offers a supplemental product that boosts men's fertility called Proxeed Plus that contains nutrients such as zinc, folic acid, and vitamin B12. These nutrients are known to support sperm production and quality.
Proxeed
University of Edinburgh
The Roslin Institute at the University of Edinburgh cloned the very first mammal, Dolly the Sheep. Dolly lived a normal life but had many medical conditions such as arthritis. Dolly also suffered from sheep pulmonary adenomatosis (SPA) which was very common among cloned sheep. Dolly being cloned is important because it brought the public's attention to the applications of cloning as well as the social and ethical issues of cloning.
Ian Donald, a physician that focuses on pregnancy and childbirth, is credited with inventing the ultrasound in 1957. An ultrasound uses sound waves to resemble real-time pictures of the body. This allows physicians to confirm pregnancies, identify the sex of a child before delivery, and detect whether or not the fetus has any medical conditions.
Ian Donald
To help infertile couples, Robert Edwards developed In-Vitro Fertilization, a form of assisted reproduction. This process allows couples who previously could not have a child due to medical conditions, to finally conceive a child of their own. In 1978, he successfully fertilized an egg in a cell culture dish, making the world's first "test tube baby." Today, about four million babies have been born using this process. To learn about how IVF works visit the background page. (See Background)
Robert Edwards
In 1823, a scientist by the name of Cooper performed the very first recorded vasectomy on a dog. A vasectomy is the surgical procedure of cutting and sealing the vas deferens, making the recipient sterile. Inspired by this, scientist R. Harrison followed in Cooper's footsteps and attempted to perform a vasectomy on human males. Harrison was successful and a new form of birth control for males was invented.
R. Harrison and Cooper
Gregory Goodwin Pincus
Gregory Goodwin Pincus is a co-creator of the birth control pill. The pill significantly reduces the chance of pregnancy by preventing ovulation of an egg so fertilization does not occur. The pill contains estrogen and progestin. The estrogen prevents the pituitary gland from releasing hormones that cause ovulation, while the progestin makes the uterine lining inhospitable for an egg and limits the sperm's ability to fertilize an egg.
University of California, Davis
UC Davis has cloned a cow named Rosie in their project aimed towards perfecting cloning techniques. This was done by fusing an egg cell with an adult's cell nucleus with an electrical zap and giving it the necessary nutrients so it can grow to an embryo and be placed inside a surrogate. Rosie is expected to live a full, healthy life and is going to be transferred to her "father's" ranch.
