PET

Many factors influence fertility treatment success, including maternal age, ovarian reserve, sperm and embryo quality and clinical practice. Researchers are also increasingly examining whether environmental exposures may be a relevant factor. Air pollution is already recognised as one of the largest environmental risks to human health.

In May 2026, a federal judge in Córdoba, Argentina, issued a pre-trial order in a criminal case involving surrogacy arrangements. The order does not amount to a conviction: it establishes that there is sufficient evidence for the case to proceed towards trial. The judge ordered the prosecution of the director of a fertility clinic, an administrative employee and a lawyer for human trafficking.

It's not every day you get to enjoy the sight of an eminent academic colleague in a skin-tight full body leotard, but that was just one of the treats in store for me when I went along to The Stand Comedy Club to see Professor Rod Mitchell's Edinburgh Fringe show, Spermageddon: Thirty Minutes to Save Humanity. The show tackles the thorny topic of declining male fertility.

From light-sensitive, single-celled algae to using lasers to trigger mouse whisker movements, the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine recognises the discovery of light-gated ion channels and their applications in optogenetics to study brain function. Professor Peter Hegemann (Humboldt University of Berlin, Germany), Professor Georg Nagel (University of Würzburg, Germany) and Professor Karl Deisseroth (Stanford University, California) were jointly awarded the prize.

Spending time outside without sun protection is often believed to be safe if it takes place early or late at day, when the sun is less strong. A new study published in Photochemistry and Photobiology is now challenging these assumptions. 'You can get the same dose of UV radiation in a short time in the middle of the day or a longer time earlier or later in the day,' said Professor Rachel Neale from QIMR Berghofer in Queensland, Australia, who co-led the work.

The first UK patient has had his testicular tissue transplanted back; it was frozen prior to chemotherapy he had as a child. Some treatments for cancer or blood conditions such as sickle cell disease can damage the cells which produce sperm, impacting fertility. Adult men can freeze sperm prior to chemotherapy, but this is not possible before puberty.

A gene therapy for Huntington's disease failed to show statistically significant slowing of disease progression after 48 months, according to newly released data. Dutch biopharmaceutical company uniQure had recently reapplied for an accelerated Biological Licence Application (BLA) from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) for their Huntington's disease gene therapy fezuntirgene inilparvovec, or AMT-130.

NHS England plans to roll out a new rapid genomic test developed by the University of Nottingham to diagnose brain tumours. Brain tumours currently affect about 12,000 people in the UK every year. Over a hundred different types exist, some slow-growing and others aggressive, with each carrying its own genomic signature. Typically, a small tumour sample is taken during surgery and sent for analysis to determine the nature of the cancer and therefore treatment approaches.

An Irish television programme has brought the selling of IVF add-ons to public attention. The documentary 'Fertility Uncovered' included footage from the Future Fertility Show in Dublin, an event targeted at consumers and fertility patients. Undercover reporters for the programme were given questionable advice, and witnessed the promotion of unproven treatments.

A UK judge has granted a parental order after illegal commercial surrogacy in China, despite 'strongly deprecating' the intended parents' choices. Mr Justice Alistair MacDonald made the order at the Family Court in London in relation to a boy born last year in China, where surrogacy is illegal. The intended parents, who claimed to be unaware of the Chinese ban, paid about £93,000 to an intermediary who arranged a donor egg and a Chinese surrogate.