The oocyte is the major determinant of embryo developmental competence in women. It
delivers half the chromosomal complement to the embryo, but the maternal and paternal …

Fertilizable eggs develop from diploid precursor cells termed oocytes. Once every menstrual
cycle, an oocyte matures into a fertilizable egg in the ovary. To this end, the oocyte …

The first edition of the Textbook of Assisted Reproductive Techniques was published in
2001. As the textbook now enters its sixth edition, some 45 years since the birth of Louise …

BACKGROUND: Spindles are formed from microtubules and are exquisitely sensitive to
changes in temperature. An orientation-independent polarized light microscope, the …

BACKGROUND: The clinical efficacy of the current methods used for cryopreservation of
metaphase II human oocytes is low. Meiotic spindle disorders are thought to be largely …

The mammalian egg appears to transduce the duration, amplitude, and temporal
presentation of the increase in the intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+] i) upon …

This study assesses meiotic spindle and zona pellucida characteristics using the PolScope,
and analyses their relationship to embryonic development potential. A total of 205 matured …

BACKGROUND Birefrigent meiotic spindle in live human oocytes can be visualized by the
PolScope. This study investigated the relationship between birefrigent meiotic spindle and …

Recent advances in biotechnology have enabled us to produce cloned and genetically
modified cattle and pigs by manipulating in vitro-produced embryos. However, the efficiency …

To better understand the differences in cytoskeletal organization between in vivo (IVO) and
in vitro (IVM) matured oocytes, we analyzed remodeling of the centrosome-microtubule …