"We are delighted to announce that this book has been short listed for the prestigious Michael Ramsey prize for the best in theological writing. For more information please visit: www.michaelramseyprize.org.uk A radical examination of the Christian tradition relating to the human embryo and how this relates to the debate today.In recent years, the moral status of the human embryo has come to the fore as a vital issue for a range of contemporary ethical debates: concerning the over-production, freezing and discarding of embryos in IVF; concerning the use of 'spare' embryos for scientific experimentation; and finally, concerning the prospect of producing clone embryos. These debates have involved not only general philosophical arguments, but also specifically religious arguments. Many participants have attempted to find precedent from the Christian tradition for the positions they wish to defend.It is therefore extraordinary that until The Soul of the Embryo there has been no significant work on the history of Christian reflection on the human embryo. Here, David Albert Jones seeks to tell the story of this unfolding tradition - a story that encompasses many different medical, moral, philosophical and theological themes. He starts by examining the understanding of the embryo in the Hebrew Scritpures, then moves through early Christianity and the Middle Ages to the Reformation and beyond. Finally, Albert Jones considers the application of this developed tradition to contemporary situation and questions which contemporary Christian view or views are best regarded as authentic developments of the tradition and which should be regarded as alien to the tradition. "

Selecting the best embryo to transfer to the uterus is key to successful in vitro fertilization (IVF). A huge amount of research has been devoted to this topic and there are numerous methods used, from simple morphological assessment to molecular biological techniques to assess the genome and metabolism of the newly fertilized embryo. For many of these techniques, an adequate evidence base is lacking, and expert opinion is valuable. Clinical imperatives require ranking all embryos in a cohort according to their viability, thereby enabling the selection of the best embryo to optimize live birth outcome: a key indicator used to measure and rate IVF Clinics worldwide. This clear and informative manual will provide embryologists and clinicians with an overview of the tools now available to assist in embryo selection, as well as evidence for their efficacy and safety and the broader considerations that must underlie these important clinical decisions.

Intimate and medicalized, natural and technological, reproduction poses some of the most challenging ethical dilemmas of our time. Reproduction presses the boundaries of humanity and ethical respect, the permissible limits of technology, conscientious objection by health care professionals, and social justice. This volume brings together scholars from multiple perspectives to address both traditional and novel questions about the rights and responsibilities of human reproducers, their caregivers, and the societies in which they live. Among issues treated in the volume are what it is to be a parent, the responsibilities of parents, and the role of society in facilitating or discouraging parenting. May gamete donors be anonymous? Is surrogacy in which a woman gestates a child for others ethically permissible when efforts are made to prevent coercion or exploitation? Should it be mandatory to screen newborns for potentially serious conditions, or permissible to sequence their genomes? Are both parties to a reproductive act equally responsible to support the child, even if one deceived the other? Are there ethical asymmetries between male and female parents, and is the lack of available contraceptives for men unjust? Should the costs of infertility treatment be socially shared, as they are for other forms of health care? Do parents have a duty to try to conceive children under the best circumstances they can-or to avoid conception if the child will suffer? What is the status of the fetus and what ethical limits constrain the use of fetal tissue? Reproduction is a rapidly changing medical field, with novel developments such as mitochondrial transfer or uterine transplantation occurring regularly. And there are emerging natural challenges, too, with Zika virus just the latest. The volume gives readers tools not only to address the problems we now know, but ones that may emerge in the future as well.

In this book the authors present current research in the study of foetal development and its stages of growth, maternal influences and potential complications. Topics discussed in this compilation include the equine foetal development, fetomaternal interaction and potential complications during pregnancy; comparative anatomy, development and functional significance of the mammalian yolk sac; influence of exercise training on e-NOS expression, nitric oxide production and mitochondrial function in the human placenta; maternal melamine and foetal development; and immunolocalisation of syntaxin2 in sinusoidal endothelial cells during mouse liver development.

A basic understanding of human genetics is vital for all those working in the field of assisted human reproduction. Genetic makeup can hamper reproduction and insight into this is making genetic diagnosis and counselling increasingly important. This fully updated textbook continues the clear structure of the original edition, beginning with a chapter on the basics of genetics and cytogenetics. Genetic causes of infertility and the effect of epigenetics and transposons on fertility are discussed in detail. Several new chapters are included in this edition, reflecting the advances of the field, including preconception genetic analysis and screening in IVF and mitochondrial genetics. Combining genetics, reproductive biology and medicine, this is an essential text for practitioners in reproductive medicine and geneticists involved in the field looking to improve their knowledge of the subject and provide outstanding patient care.

Leading gender and science scholar Sarah S. Richardson charts the untold history of the idea that a woman's health and behavior during pregnancy can have long-term effects on her descendants' health and welfare. The idea that a woman may leave a biological trace on her gestating offspring has long been a commonplace folk intuition and a matter of scientific intrigue, but the form of that idea has changed dramatically over time. Beginning with the advent of modern genetics at the turn of the twentieth century, biomedical scientists dismissed any notion that a mother-except in cases of extreme deprivation or injury-could alter her offspring's traits. Consensus asserted that a child's fate was set by a combination of its genes and post-birth upbringing. Over the last fifty years, however, this consensus was dismantled, and today, research on the intrauterine environment and its effects on the fetus is emerging as a robust program of study in medicine, public health, psychology, evolutionary biology, and genomics. Collectively, these sciences argue that a woman's experiences, behaviors, and physiology can have life-altering effects on offspring development. Tracing a genealogy of ideas about heredity and maternal-fetal effects, this book offers a critical analysis of conceptual and ethical issues-in particular, the staggering implications for maternal well-being and reproductive autonomy-provoked by the striking rise of epigenetics and fetal origins science in postgenomic biology today.

This 4th edition of the "Mouse Manual"-Manipulating the Mouse Embryo-appears 28 years after the first edition and once again is the definitive reference source on mouse development, transgenesis techniques, and molecular biology. Authors Richard Behringer, Marina Gertsenstein, Kristina Nagy, and Andras Nagy-pre-emininent leaders in their fields-have reorganized and updated this edition to include new information and protocols on: * assisted reproduction techniques for sperm and embryo cryopreservation * generation of induced pluripotent stem cells * isolation, generation, and transplantation of spermatogonial stem cell lines * in utero electroporation of gene constructs into post- implantation embryos * vibratome sectioning of live and fixed tissues for imaging thick tissue sections * whole-mount fluorescent staining methods for three-dimensional visualization. Techniques regarding recombinant DNA technology and mouse embryonic development from the previous editions have been updated and recast, as has the wealth of information on mouse laboratory strains, mouse housing and breeding, surgical procedures, assisted reproduction, handling of embryos, and micromanipulation setups. The first edition of Manipulating the Mouse Embryo appeared in 1986 as an outgrowth of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory courses on the molecular embryology of the mouse held in the early 1980s, and authors of the first two editions included Brigid Hogan, Rosa Beddington, Frank Costantini, and Liz Lacy. Mouse embryo manipulation techniques have developed exponentially since the first edition, but then, as now, Manipulating the Mouse Embryo remains the essential practical and theoretical guide for anyone working with mice-students, lab technicians, and investigators.

The Year Book of Neonatal and Perinatal Medicine brings you abstracts of the articles that reported the year's breakthrough developments in neonatal and perinatal medicine, carefully selected from more than 500 journals worldwide. Expert commentaries evaluate the clinical importance of each article and discuss its application to your practice. There's no faster or easier way to stay informed Chapters in this annual cover the most current information on all aspects of neonatal and perinatal medicine from genetics to labor and delivery to issues related to many key bodily systems (heart, respiratory, nervous system, etc.) of newborns. Other topics for 2004 include neurology, gastroenterology and nutrition, medical disorders of pregnancy, fetal evaluation, and neonatal behavior.

Est ce que l'avortement est un crime ou un droit? C'est peut etre la question que tu te poses et a la quelle tu n'as pas encore trouve de reponse. La lecture de cette brochure te donnera une idee Claire sur l'avortement de maniere a pouvoir repondre a cette question.

This Basic Concepts title sheds light on the most elusive concepts in embryology and does so in a concise, lively manner. The level of detail is geared directly to that which is required by students in a way which esily accesses the most relevant information. The book utilizes jargon-free language and innovative teaching techniques to promote an understanding of concepts--not just the rote memorization of facts. To further enhance comprehension, text and illustrations accompany each other on the same or facing pages.

Long regarded as biological waste, the placenta is gaining momentum as a viable product for clinical use. Due to their unique properties, placental cells and derivatives show great promise in curing various diseases. Utilizing contributions from world-renowned experts, Placenta: The Tree of Life considers the therapeutic potential of these cells. It examines new stem cell-based strategies and highlights recent studies that advance the range of treatment for a number of illnesses. Emphasizing the potential research and therapeutic use of stem cells, the book discusses the development, structure, and functions of the human placenta. It introduces overall aspects of the immune system, explains some of the immune mechanisms during pregnancy, and shows the role of the placenta in these mechanisms. Current scientific research is presented that focuses on the mechanisms of action underlying the therapeutic benefit of cells isolated from different placental regions. An exhaustive examination, this pivotal work: Considers how perinatal cells may represent an important source for cell therapy approaches in the near future, in both human and veterinary medicine Describes the clinical potential of placenta-derived cells in regenerative medicine-specifically in neurological disorders, metabolic liver diseases, inflammatory diseases, and autoimmune diseases Explains how cells isolated from different placental tissues share basic properties Placenta: The Tree of Life summarizes the advantages of perinatal tissue as a source of cells with therapeutic potential and is designed for use in the study of genetics, stem cell science, placental function, reproductive biology, regenerative medicine, and related fields.

This title includes a number of Open Access chapters. Embryology is the study of embryos. It is the branch of biological science that deals with the formation and early development of an individual organism, from fertilization of the egg (ovum) to birth. This collection includes articles on some of the most important topics in embryology today, such as cryopreservation of human embryos, in vitro generation of neurons from embryonic stem cells, embryonic transfer, transcriptional profiling, and more.

Developmental biologists have been driven to investigate growth factor signaling in embryos in order to understand the regulatory mechanisms underlying a given developmental process. Thus, it is critical to explore the technical methods and experimental designs for growth factor signaling in embryos.

Focusing on specific pathways or pathway components, Analysis of Growth Factor Signaling in Embryos provides the methods and guidelines for experimental design to study major aspects of cell signaling in vertebrate embryos. The book covers a broad range of topics in signaling and a variety of current model organisms. Section I explores specific signaling pathways or pathway components. In this section, some chapters highlight the biochemistry of signaling pathways during development, which is often distinctive from that observed in cell culture systems. Section II discusses ionic regulatory mechanisms and the two chapters in Section III examine ways of investigating gene regulation in response to extracellular signals. Finally, Section IV addresses emerging strategies that facilitate integrated analyses of cell signaling" in vivo" in embryonic systems.

Featuring contributions from expert researchers, Analysis of Growth Factor Signaling in Embryos will provide a foundation for further explorations of the cellular regulatory mechanisms governing vertebrate embryonic development.

Kinetic models are becoming standard tools in the research of biological systems. They are used to represent hypotheses, analyze data, and design experiments to maximize the information obtained from a study. Kinetic Models of Trace Element and Mineral Metabolism During Development describes models for calcium, chromium, copper, iron, iodide, lead, mercury, selenium, zinc, and others in health and disease.