Latest news with #fertility
Bloomberg
an hour ago
- Business
- Bloomberg
Peak Humanity, House Prices and Why UK Pubs Are Vanishing
Here's a thought for the weekend. You are living in (or at least very close to) peak humanity. Populations in countries including Japan and China are actually shrinking, with China losing more than a million people a year net. At this rate, it will see its population halve by the end of the century. Japan's population fell by almost a million people last year and its government projects it will be down 40% by 2100. Across the sea in South Korea, the fertility rate is down to 0.72—that's one third of what's called the replacement rate (2.1 babies on average per woman). Fertility is also collapsing across Europe, and there's even a baby bust underway in Latin America. Here in the UK, the fertility rate is down to 1.44.
Wall Street Journal
3 hours ago
- Health
- Wall Street Journal
Her Husband Went Missing Fighting Russia. She Is Still Trying to Have His Baby.
LVIV, Ukraine—On brief leave from fighting against Russia's invasion of Ukraine, soldier Petro Kotovych's wife, Maria, rushed him to a fertility clinic here. The couple had struggled to have a baby and undergone five rounds of IVF before the war. Now, with Petro drafted into the Ukrainian army and Moscow's forces posing an existential threat to the country, their personal battle to conceive seemed more urgent.
Globe and Mail
18 hours ago
- General
- Globe and Mail
‘Who's my dad?'
Opinion It's far too difficult for Canadians conceived by donors to get an answer to that seemingly simple question, thanks to rules that protect parents, clinics and donors themselves. Why is change taking so long? Aviva Coopersmith The Globe and Mail PHOTO ILLUSTRATION: THE GLOBE AND MAIL/GETTY IMAGES to view this content.
The Sun
19 hours ago
- Health
- The Sun
New threat to plummeting male fertility rates identified as common but ‘silent' parasite that ‘DECAPITATES sperm'
FERTILITY rates appear to have been declining in both men and women globally - and now scientists have found a common single-celled parasite may be a contributor. Male fertility rates in particular have been plummeting over the past half-century, with an analysis from 1992 showing a steady decrease in sperm counts and quality since the 1940s. 3 3 And a more recent study found male infertility rates increased nearly 80 per cent from 1990 to 2019. Declining fertility rates have been attributed to a combination of factors, including rising costs associated with raising children. But now accumulating evidence suggests parasitic infections could also be a threat. A study published in April this year showed for the first time "human sperm lose their heads upon direct contact" with a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii. Toxoplasma gondii causes toxoplasmosis - an often harmless infection but can cause serious problems in individuals with weakened immune systems, pregnant women, and newborns. The parasite is found in the faeces of infected cats and in undercooked meat. Writing for The Conversation, Bill Sullivan, Professor of Microbiology and Immunology, Indiana University, said how the "new study bolsters emerging findings that underscore the importance of preventing this parasitic infection". Foodbourne transmission and animal to human transmission are the top ways people can get toxoplasmosis. Eating raw or undercooked meat, particularly lamb, pork, and venison, is a primary source of infection. And eating unwashed fruits and vegetables that have been contaminated with cat faeces or soil can also lead to infection. Major health advice for couples as HSE offers new resources for anyone struggling with fertility Ingesting the parasite through contact with cat faeces (poop) or soil contaminated with cat faeces is a common way to get toxoplasmosis. Cleaning cat litter boxes without proper hygiene can also expose people to the parasite. While toxoplasmosis is generally harmless for most people with healthy immune systems, often causing no symptoms or mild, flu-like symptoms that resolve on their own, Sullivan said toxoplasma remains in the body for life as dormant cysts in brain, heart and muscle tissue. And these cysts can reactive and cause additional episode of severe illness that damage critical organ system. He explains: "Between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of the world's population is permanently infected with toxoplasma due to the many ways the parasite can spread. "Upon infection, toxoplasma spreads to virtually every organ and skeletal muscle. Evidence that toxoplasma can also target human male reproductive organs first surfaced during the height of the AIDS pandemic in the 1980s, when some patients presented with the parasitic infection in their testes. 3 "While immunocompromised patients are most at risk for testicular toxoplasmosis, it can also occur in otherwise healthy individuals. "Imaging studies of infected mice confirm that toxoplasma parasites quickly travel to the testes in addition to the brain and eyes within days of infection." Evidence in past studies suggesting toxoplasma can reside in male reproductive organs has prompted analysis of fertility in infected men. In the April 2025 study, researchyers from Germany, Uraguay and Chile observed that toxoplasma can reach the testes and epididymis - the tube where sperm mature and are stored - two days after infection in mice. Looking at what happens when the parasite comes into direct contact with human sperm in a test tube, they observed that after only five minutes, 22.4 per cent of sperm cells were beheaded. The number of decapitated sperm also increased the longer they interacted with the parasites. Sperm cells that maintained their head were often twisted and misshapen, and sperm cells had hole sin their head, suggesting the parasites were trying to invade them as it would any other type of cell. Sullivan added: "The evidence that toxoplasma can infiltrate male reproductive organs in animals is compelling, but whether this produces health issues in people remains unclear. "Testicular toxoplasmosis shows that parasites can invade human testes, but symptomatic disease is very rare. "Studies to date that show defects in the sperm of infected men are too small to draw firm conclusions at this time. "Additionally, some reports suggest that rates of toxoplasmosis in high-income countries have not been increasing over the past few decades while male infertility was rising, so it's likely to only be one part of the puzzle." Could you have toxoplasmosis? Toxoplasmosis is a common infection that you can catch from the poo of infected cats, or infected meat. It's usually harmless but can cause serious problems in some people. Most people who become infected with the toxoplasma gondii parasite don't show any signs of infection. The parasite can reside in the body for life without causing issues. However, if you do have symptoms, they can be mild and flu-like, such as fever, swollen lymph nodes, and muscle aches. According to the NHS, some people may have more serious symptoms including: confusion blurred vision slurred speech unsteady walking Your GP may do blood tests to see if you've been infected with toxoplasmosis. They can also prescribe medicines to treat the infection if necessary. Most people who get toxoplasmosis get better without treatment. However, you'll usually be given medicines, including antibiotics, if you: are pregnant have a weakened immune system, for example, you're taking immunosuppressant medicines or you have HIV have symptoms affecting your eyes To avoid toxoplasmosis: wear gloves while gardening, and wash your hands thoroughly afterwards wash your hands before preparing food and eating wash hands, knives and chopping boards thoroughly after preparing raw meat wash fruit and vegetables thoroughly to get rid of any traces of soil thoroughly cook meat, especially lamb, pork and venison avoid cat poo in cat litter and soil if you can, wearing gloves if you need to empty cat litter trays and washing your hands afterwards Don't: eat raw or undercooked meat, or cured meats like salami or parma ham have unpasteurised goats' milk or any products made from it touch pregnant sheep or lambs do not feed cats raw or undercooked meat
New York Times
21 hours ago
- Health
- New York Times
How the Therapy Generation Chose to Be Childless
They mess you up, your mum and may not mean to, but they fill you with the faults they hadAnd add some extra, just for you. How many times had I read a version of these lines or heard them recited? The opening stanza of Philip Larkin's poem 'This Be the Verse' is a favorite of fictional shrinks and wise folk. I can say them by heart. But it was only last year, my stomach already stretching with new life, that I reread the poem and found myself focusing on the third stanza, which offers the logical conclusion of the earlier two: Man hands misery to deepens like a coastal out as early as you can,And don't have any kids yourself. There are few decisions more fraught for members of my generations — the cusp of millennial and Gen Z — than whether or not to become a parent. In 2023 the U.S. fertility rate fell to a record low. Some of the decline can be explained by a delay in having children or a decrease in the number of children, rather than people forgoing child rearing entirely. But it still seems increasingly likely that millennials will have the highest rate of childlessness of any generational cohort in American history. There are plenty of plausible explanations for the trend. People aren't having kids because it's too expensive. They're not having kids because they can't find the right partner. They're not having kids because they want to prioritize their careers, because of climate change, because the idea of bringing a child onto this broken planet is too depressing. They're swearing off parenthood because of the overturning of Roe v. Wade or because they're perennially commitmentphobic or because popular culture has made motherhood seem so daunting, its burdens so deeply unpleasant, that you have to have a touch of masochism to even consider it. Maybe women, in particular, are having fewer children simply because they can. I suspect there's some truth in all of these explanations. But I think there's another reason, too, one that's often been overlooked. Over the past few decades, Americans have redefined 'harm,' 'abuse,' 'neglect' and 'trauma,' expanding those categories to include emotional and relational struggles that were previously considered unavoidable parts of life. Adult children seem increasingly likely to publicly, even righteously, cut off contact with a parent, sometimes citing emotional, physical or sexual abuse they experienced in childhood and sometimes things like clashing values, parental toxicity or feeling misunderstood or unsupported. This cultural shift has contributed to a new, nearly impossible standard for parenting. Not only must parents provide shelter, food, safety and love, but we, their children, also expect them to get us started on successful careers and even to hold themselves accountable for our mental health and happiness well into our adult years. Want all of The Times? Subscribe.
