Latest news with #ZevWilliams
Time of India
2 days ago
- Science
- Time of India
'Miracle': After 15 failed IVFs and 19 years of tears, how AI helped a couple finally have a baby
Live Events (You can now subscribe to our (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel It sounds almost unbelievable, but artificial intelligence has just helped a couple get pregnant after 19 long years of failed attempts. Diagnosed with azoospermia, a condition where no sperm are detectable in the ejaculate, the couple had been through 15 heartbreaking IVF failures. But in March this year, their journey took a miraculous turn, thanks to a pioneering AI tool developed by scientists at Columbia University Fertility tool, aptly named Sperm Track and Recovery (STAR), works much like AI systems used by astrophysicists to detect rare stars in the sky, except this one hunts for extremely rare sperm in semen to Dr Zev Williams, the lead researcher and developer of STAR, 'It's like finding a needle not just in a haystack, but in a thousand haystacks.' In an interview with Time Magazine, he explained how the system can locate living sperm that traditional lab techniques often miss, and do so in under two technology combines AI, high-speed imaging and robotics. A fluidic chip is used to flow a semen sample through a small plastic tube. If the AI algorithm detects even a single viable sperm, that portion of the fluid is isolated in a separate tube, ready to be used for fertilisation or frozen for later exactly what happened in this couple's case. Within two hours of collecting the husband's sample, the AI system had not only identified sperm but helped fertilise the wife's eggs. Just a few days later, the fertilised embryo was transferred to her uterus. Four months on, the mother-to-be and the baby are both doing stands out for its ability to detect sperm in cases where even trained embryologists fall short. Dr Williams recalled an internal test where embryologists spent two days analysing a sample and found no sperm. STAR found 44 viable sperm in just an hour. 'They didn't want to be outdone by a machine,' he joked, but the results were gentle, chemical-free method marks a massive leap forward in tackling male infertility, particularly azoospermia, which affects around 1% of all men and is responsible for 10% of male infertility Williams says STAR could soon help redefine possibilities for many men and couples who have lost hope. 'The dream is to develop technologies so that those who are told 'you have no chance of being able to have a child' can now go on to have healthy children,' he told such scientific breakthroughs, it's no longer just wishful thinking, it's becoming from agencies
Time of India
2 days ago
- Health
- Time of India
After 19 years of trying for a baby, this couple lost hope. But AI made it happen
Artificial intelligence is making swift strides in healthcare in a short time — and now, in a first, it has even helped a couple get pregnant. After 19 years of trying to start a family, with azoospermia (no detectable sperm in ejaculate) and 15 failed IVF cycles, the couple finally became pregnant in March this year after using what is called a Sperm Track and Recovery (STAR) system. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Just like astrophysicists use AI to find new stars, Columbia University Fertility Center researchers developed STAR to detect 'really, really, really rare sperm', the kind lab technicians fail to find in azoospermia samples. 'I liken it to finding a needle hidden within a thousand haystacks. But it can do that in a couple of hours — and so gently that the sperm that we recover can be used to fertilise an egg,' Dr Zev Williams, STAR developer and fertility centre director told Time Magazine. For five years, Williams and his team perfected the system using a sperm-detecting AI algorithm. The process starts with a fluidic chip flowing the semen sample through a small tube on a plastic chip. Once AI confirms sperm presence, that bit of semen is diverted to a separate tube. Whatever few sperm there are in the sample can be isolated in such a way, and either used to fertilise an egg or frozen for later use. That's exactly what Williams and his team did for the couple. Just two hours after collecting the husband's sperm, they got to know the wife's eggs had been successfully fertilised, ready for transfer to the uterus in a few days. The wife is four months pregnant now and both the mother and fetus are doing well. To serve as a test, embryologists analysed a sample for two days but found no sperm. STAR AI found 44 in an hour Dr Zev Williams, director, Columbia University Fertility Center Columbia University Fertility Center says the STAR system is a groundbreaking advancement for men diagnosed with azoospermia, adding, 'This system can detect and retrieve even the smallest numbers of sperm gently and without harsh chemicals or lasers, using cutting-edge AI, high-speed imaging, and robotics.' Tired of too many ads? go ad free now What makes STAR ahead of other AI detecting systems is that it can also successfully isolate the sperm in a semen sample where male infertility is involved. 'As a test, we decided to run samples where embryologists could not find any sperm through the system. The embryologists really worked hard to find sperm, since they didn't want to be outshone by a machine. In one of the samples, they analysed for two days and found no sperm. STAR found 44 in an hour,' says Williams. Azoospermia affects around 1% of all men and accounts for 10% of all male fertility issues. The most common cause of the condition is a blockage in the male reproductive tract. Other causes include genetic conditions, hormonal imbalances, endocrine disorders, radiation therapy, environmental toxins, and drug or alcohol abuse. Williams says azoospermia is one of the many fertility issues that his AI STAR system could find a solution to. 'The dream is to develop technologies so that those who are told 'you have no chance of being able to have a child' can now go on to have healthy children,' he adds. Agencies
Yahoo
18-07-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Scientists Just Used Three-Person DNA to Prevent Deadly Diseases in Babies
In a breakthrough that could change the future of fertility treatment, researchers in Britain announced this week that eight healthy babies were born using an experimental DNA technique designed to prevent rare and often fatal genetic diseases, CNN reported. The method, sometimes called 'three-person IVF,' combines DNA from a mother, a father, and a donor to help families avoid passing on destructive mutations in mitochondrial DNA. While most of our DNA comes from the mother and father's genetic material in the nucleus of a cell, mitochondria—the cell's power source—carry a tiny but critical amount of their own DNA. Mutations there can lead to devastating conditions, including muscle weakness, seizures, and organ failure. For a small number of parents, traditional genetic testing can't always predict the risk of these conditions. That's where the three-person technique comes in. Scientists extract healthy mitochondria from a donor egg and transfer the parents' genetic material into it before fertilization. The result? An embryo with healthy mitochondria and less than 1% donor DNA—too little to affect the child's traits, but enough to make a difference for their health. 'This marks an important milestone,' said Dr. Zev Williams of Columbia University Fertility Center. 'It's empowering more couples to pursue safe, healthy pregnancies.' The procedure has been carefully regulated in the U.K. since 2016 and is approved only for patients who have no other options. Researchers at Newcastle University and Monash University in Australia reported that out of 22 patients treated, eight have delivered healthy babies. One woman is still pregnant. However, some experts remain cautious. Critics warn of unknown long-term effects on future generations. In the U.S., federal law still prohibits clinical research involving heritable genetic modifications, keeping the technique off-limits for now. For families who've faced mitochondrial disease, the potential is life-changing. Liz Curtis, whose daughter Lily died from the condition in 2006, called the advance 'super exciting for families that don't have much hope.' Curtis now leads the Lily Foundation, which supports research into mitochondrial diseases, including this groundbreaking Just Used Three-Person DNA to Prevent Deadly Diseases in Babies first appeared on Men's Journal on Jul 18, 2025
CBC
17-07-2025
- Health
- CBC
8 babies born with experimental 3-parent IVF technique
Eight healthy babies were born in Britain with the help of an experimental technique that uses DNA from three people to help mothers avoid passing devastating rare diseases to their children, researchers report. Most DNA is found in the nucleus of our cells, and it's that genetic material — some inherited from mom, some from dad — that makes us who we are. But there's also some DNA outside of the cell's nucleus, in structures called mitochondria. Dangerous mutations there can cause a range of diseases in children that can lead to muscle weakness, seizures, developmental delays, major organ failure and death. Testing during the in vitro fertilization process can usually identify whether these mutations are present. But in rare cases, it's not clear. Researchers have been developing a technique that tries to avoid the problem by using the healthy mitochondria from a donor egg. They reported in 2023 that the first babies had been born using this method, where scientists take genetic material from the mother's egg or embryo, which is then transferred into a donor egg or embryo that has healthy mitochondria but the rest of its key DNA removed. The latest research"marks an important milestone," said Dr. Zev Williams, who directs the Columbia University Fertility Center and was not involved in the work. "Expanding the range of reproductive options … will empower more couples to pursue safe and healthy pregnancies." Using this method means the embryo has DNA from three people — from the mother's egg, the father's sperm and the donor's mitochondria — and it required a 2016 U.K. law change to approve it. It is also allowed in Australia but not in many other countries, including the U.S. and Canada. Experts at Britain's Newcastle University and Monash University in Australia reported in the New England Journal of Medicine Wednesday that they performed the new technique in fertilized embryos from 22 patients, which resulted in eight babies that appear to be free of mitochondrial diseases. One woman is still pregnant. One of the eight babies born had slightly higher than expected levels of abnormal mitochondria, said Robin Lovell-Badge, a stem cell and developmental genetics scientist at the Francis Crick Institute who was not involved in the research. He said it was still not considered a high enough level to cause disease, but should be monitored as the baby develops. Dr. Andy Greenfield, a reproductive health expert at the University of Oxford, called the work "a triumph of scientific innovation," and said the method of exchanging mitochondria would only be used for a small number of women for whom other ways of avoiding passing on genetic diseases, like testing embryos at an early stage, was not effective. Lovell-Badge said the amount of DNA from the donor is insignificant, noting that any resulting child would have no traits from the woman who donated the healthy mitochondria. The genetic material from the donated egg makes up less than 1 per cent of the baby born after this technique. Safety and ethical questions remain "If you had a bone marrow transplant from a donor … you will have much more DNA from another person," he said. In the U.K., every couple seeking a baby born through donated mitochondria must be approved by the country's fertility regulator. As of this month, 35 patients have been authorized to undergo the technique. Critics have previously raised concerns, warning that it's impossible to know the impact these sorts of novel techniques might have on future generations. "Currently, pronuclear transfer is not permitted for clinical use in the U.S., largely due to regulatory restrictions on techniques that result in heritable changes to the embryo," Williams, of Columbia, said in an email. "Whether that will change remains uncertain and will depend on evolving scientific, ethical, and policy discussions." For about a decade, Congress in the U.S. has included provisions in annual funding bills banning the Food and Drug Administration from accepting applications for clinical research involving techniques, "in which a human embryo is intentionally created or modified to include a heritable genetic modification." But in countries where the technique is allowed, advocates say it could provide a promising alternative for some families. Liz Curtis, whose daughter Lily died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006, now works with other families affected by them. She said it was devastating to be told there was no treatment for her eight-month-old baby and that death was inevitable. She said the diagnosis "turned our world upside down, and yet nobody could tell us very much about it, what it was or how it was going to affect Lily." Curtis later founded the Lily Foundation in her daughter's name to raise awareness and support research into the disease, including the latest work done at Newcastle University.
Euronews
17-07-2025
- Health
- Euronews
Healthy babies born in UK using DNA from three people
In a groundbreaking advance, eight healthy babies have been born in the UK using a revolutionary technique that combines DNA from three different people to prevent the inheritance of rare and often fatal genetic diseases. It's an innovation made possible by a 2016 change in British law. Though banned in the United States and many other countries, the technique is also permitted in Australia. The news 'marks an important milestone,' said Dr. Zev Williams, who directs the Columbia University Fertility Centre but was not involved in the work. 'Expanding the range of reproductive options will empower more couples to pursue safe and healthy pregnancies'. Why mitochondrial diseases are so dangerous Most of our DNA comes from the nucleus of a cell, inherited from both mother and father. But there's also some DNA outside of the cell's nucleus, in structures called mitochondria - tiny energy-producing structures that come only from the mother. When mitochondrial DNA carries dangerous mutations, it can lead to severe and often untreatable conditions in children, from seizures and muscle weakness to organ failure and early death. Screening embryos during IVF can sometimes detect these mutations - but not always. As a result of these rare and uncertain cases, scientists have been developing a pioneering workaround: replacing the mutated mitochondria with healthy ones from a donor egg. The mother's genetic material is extracted and inserted into a donor egg that has had its own nucleus removed, keeping the donor's mitochondria intact but none of her traits. The resulting embryo contains DNA from three people: the mother, the father, and a third-party mitochondrial donor. Outcomes and early results from the UK study Researchers from Newcastle University in the UK and Monash University in Australia, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, reported that they applied the technique to embryos from 22 women. Eight healthy babies have been born so far, and one woman remains pregnant. One of the babies showed slightly elevated levels of abnormal mitochondria - but not high enough to cause disease, experts say. Still, doctors will continue to monitor development. Dr. Andy Greenfield, a reproductive health expert at the University of Oxford, called the work 'a triumph of scientific innovation,' and said the method of exchanging mitochondria would only be used for a small number of women for whom other ways of avoiding passing on genetic diseases, like testing embryos at an early stage, was not effective. While the term 'three-parent baby' makes headlines, the amount of donor DNA involved is tiny - less than 1 per cent of the child's genome. "If you had a bone marrow transplant from a donor... you will have much more DNA from another person,' noted stem cell expert Robin Lovell-Badge. So far, 35 families in the UK have been approved to use the technique, which is closely regulated. Critics have voiced concerns over the long-term effects of heritable genetic changes, which is partly why the US currently prohibits clinical research into such methods. Federal restrictions have blocked the FDA from even considering applications involving embryos altered in this way But for families like Liz Curtis', the technique offers something they never had before: hope. Her daughter Lily died of a mitochondrial disease in 2006 at just eight months old. She said the diagnosis 'turned our world upside down, and yet nobody could tell us very much about it, what it was or how it was going to affect Lily.' Curtis later founded the Lily Foundation in her daughter's name to raise awareness and support research into the disease, including the latest work done at Newcastle University. 'It's super exciting for families that don't have much hope in their lives,' Curtis said.
