Six of one, half a dozen of the other. Spoiled for choice. How do you decide which path to take to have children after a vasectomy? Do you do a vasectomy reversal or undergo a sperm retrieval and assisted reproduction (IVF-ICSI). Stuck between a pillow and a soft place now becomes a pillow and a laboratory. Analysis...Continue reading
You know it when it’s happening. The moment you have to rise to the occasion. It’s shut up and put out time. You summon all of your faculties, as only your best will do. A performance, race, speech, interview, exam or surgery. We all have these moments. I treasure mine. The Case of All Cases...Continue reading
Truth be told. No fairy tales here. Gotta believe that biology always wins. I was reminded of this as Kevin Richardson, the Backstreet Boys star of our movie If I Could Tell You, recently revealed his own infertility journey. Given his great performance in the film, it’s no surprise he came into it guns loaded with emotional ammo. Sex...Continue reading
Not sure about you, but I like to see the good in the bad. By focusing on the flipside of adversity, I get stronger instead of weaker. Hey, I’m the first one to fess up to the unpleasant, abominable and awful, but there’s gotta be a way to make silk…or something…out of a sow’s ear....Continue reading
Put two experts in a room and give each of them the same problem to solve. What you’ll find is that they typically use similar “knowledge structures” and “heuristic strategies” (i.e. organized and principled thinking) and then proceed to break the problem into smaller, more digestible ones to solve it. But, despite similar cognitive approaches, the solutions...Continue reading
There is a lot of “information” out there nowadays. It all started way back when we humans started talking. Then came the written word, and then television, and now it’s the world-wide-web, that great wellspring of all things knowable. Thomas Jefferson considered information the “currency of democracy,” and Ronald Reagan termed it the “oxygen of the...Continue reading
By, Matthew Coward, M.D., Department of Urology, University of North Carolina Despite much less attention than erectile dysfunction and other male fertility problems, ejaculatory dysfunction can be one of the most frustrating sexual symptoms a patient can experience.. The purpose of ejaculation is to deposit sperm into the vagina for reproduction, and most men...Continue reading
You’ve heard of smart homes. And I bet you own a smart phone. Both great examples of technology for better living. RememberThe Jetsons‘ smart home, complete with conveyor belts and Rosie the robot maid? And who can forget the large “brick” cell phonesof days past, with terrible reception and constantly drained batteries. Well, there’s also a...Continue reading
Did it really happen? Did a company in Lyon, France actually make human sperm in a dish, as touted in a press release? Or will our hopes be dashed as before? Your guess is as good as mine. A Symphony of Biology Compare spermatogenesis to a symphony score, but a masterful one, like a work...Continue reading
Can’t conceive? Try IVF. Sure, it recently earned a Nobel Prize but isn’t that like going from 0 to 100 mph just like that? Isn’t there something simpler to do first before IVF? Turkey Basting Well, maybe there is. There are 3 levels of conception technology: No-Tech (sex), Low-Tech (IUI) and High-Tech (IVF). Intrauterine insemination...Continue reading