fbpx

Human Progress Logo Human Progress

01 / 05
Making Eggs Without Ovaries

Asimov Press | Scientific Research

Making Eggs Without Ovaries

“For nearly all of human history, there was only one way to make a baby. When a man and a woman love each other very much . . . well, you know the rest. But for many people, the usual method of baby-making doesn’t work. This is especially problematic for biological women, whose ovaries lose the ability over time to release healthy eggs. By age 40, most biological women are no longer able to reproduce. And in recent years, rates of infertility have increased along with the average age of childbearing. 

The first method to circumvent some of the difficulties of conceiving a child, in vitro fertilization (IVF), came in 1978. During IVF, eggs are collected from the ovaries and mixed with sperm. As the fertilized eggs become embryos, they are transferred into the uterus. These basic methods have greatly improved in the last four decades, and more than 10 million people have been conceived using IVF. About 800,000 children are born from IVF every year. However, this technology still relies upon eggs that are formed naturally, which for many couples is simply not an option.

But what if, as the Osaka team’s breakthrough in mice suggests, there was another way to get eggs? In the last decade, several researchers — myself included — have been exploring the tantalizing prospect of growing eggs in cell culture.”

From Asimov Press.

The Guardian | Health & Medical Care

New Treatment Could Cure One in 20 Cases of High Blood Pressure

“Half a million people in the UK with dangerously high blood pressure – a ‘silent killer’ that causes tens of thousands of deaths a year – could be cured by a new treatment.

Doctors have developed a technique to burn away nodules that lead to a large amount of salt building up in the body, which increases the risk of a stroke or heart attack.

The breakthrough could mean people with primary aldosteronism – which causes one in 20 cases of high blood pressure – no longer have to have surgery or spend their lives taking the drug spironolactone to lower their risk of a stroke or heart attack.”

From The Guardian.

Curiosities | Health & Medical Care

Industrialized People Sleep More than Hunter-Gatherers

“Much has been written about how modern lifestyles mean we are no longer getting enough sleep, unlike our ancestors who lived in less technologically advanced times. But an analysis of 54 sleep studies conducted around the world has found that people in small, non-industrialised societies actually get less sleep than those in more industrialised regions.”

From New Scientist.

Construction & Property | Accidents, Injuries & Poisonings

Cambodia’s Significant Milestone in Landmine Clearance Efforts

“On 24 February 2025, Prime Minister Samdech Thip Dei Hun Manet highlighted the remarkable achievements in Cambodia’s ongoing mine clearance campaign over the past 32 years. Since its inception in 1992, the initiative has successfully cleared nearly 3,300 square kilometres of land across 15 provinces, significantly enhancing safety and quality of life for residents…

In 2024 alone, over 273 square kilometres were cleared, destroying 17,853 anti-personnel mines, 228 anti-tank mines, and 91,111 explosive remnants of war. This concerted effort has led to a dramatic decrease in casualties, with the number plummeting from 4,320 in 1996 to just 49 in 2024.”

From Construction & Property.

New York Times | Health & Medical Care

For Patients Needing Transplants, Hope Arrives on Tiny Hooves

“On a 300-acre farm in an undisclosed location in rural Wisconsin, surrounded by fields dotted with big red barns and bordered by wild blue chicory and goldenrod, live some of the most pampered pigs in the world.

They are delivered by C-section to protect them from viruses that sows can carry, and bottle-fed instead of nursed for the same reason. They are kept under warming lights and monitored around the clock for the first days of their lives, given toys and marshmallows as treats.

But they don’t get to go outside and play in the dirt like other pigs. They are clones and constitutionally weak, genetically engineered to have kidneys, hearts and livers more compatible with the human body.

These miniature pigs are part of a bold scientific experiment that takes advantage of breakthroughs in cloning and gene editing to realize the centuries-old dream of xenotransplantation — the transfer of animal kidneys, hearts, livers and other organs into humans who need them.”

From New York Times.