Cambridge Reproduction |

Natural (left) and synthetic (right) embryos side by side to show comparable brain and heart formation. Image credit: Amadei and Handford

‘Synthetic’ embryo with brain and beating heart grown from multiple stem cells by Cambridge scientists

25 August 2022

Researchers from the University of Cambridge have created model embryos from mouse stem cells that form a brain, a beating heart, and the foundations of all the other organs of the body – a new avenue for recreating the first stages of life. The team, led by Professor Magdalena Zernicka-Goetz , developed the embryo model...

Maternal microbiome promotes healthy development of the baby

28 June 2022

Researchers studying mice have found the first evidence of how a mother’s gut microbes can help in the development of the placenta, and the healthy growth of the baby. A new study has found that a species of gut bacteria, known to have beneficial effects for health in mice and humans, changes the mother’s body during...

Marmoset embryo implanted within the uterus (image: University of Cambridge)

Molecular 3D-maps unlock new ways of studying human reproduction

16 June 2022

Scientists have identified the biochemical signals that control the emergence of the body pattern in the primate embryo. This will guide work to understand birth defects and pregnancy loss in humans. The study also provides a crucial reference for foetal tissue generation in the lab - such tissue is in short supply but is...

Testing for blood sugar with a fingerprick test

Gestational diabetes may cause long-term metabolic risks, even after apparent return to normal health

4 March 2022

There is mounting evidence of increased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in women who, when pregnant, experienced gestational diabetes (GDM). The elevated risk is observed in the decade after delivery. In their study published in Nutrition and Diabetes , researchers from the Ozanne...

A couple visiting a Brook Advisory Centre in the 1960s. Image courtesy of Brook

The not-so-swinging sixties?

21 February 2022

A new article by historian and Cambridge Reproduction member Dr Caroline Rusterholz argues that young people behaving responsibly in the 1960s helped to defeat fierce opposition to the UK’s first sexual health clinics. Her research challenges assumptions about the sexual revolution of the ‘Swinging Sixties’ and sheds new...

Breast milk in bottles (image: Jamie Grill/The Image Bank)

Live cells discovered in human breast milk could aid breast cancer research

8 February 2022

Researchers have explored the cellular changes that occur in human mammary tissue in lactating and non-lactating women, offering insight into the relationship between pregnancy, lactation and breast cancer. The study was led by researchers from the Wellcome-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (CSCI) and the Department of...

Upcoming events

07Dec

Cambridge Lactation Network virtual meeting
07Dec

Cambridge Lactation Network virtual meeting
15Dec

Early Researchers Seminar Series 2022-23: seminar 2
02Mar

Cambridge Lactation Network open face-to-face meeting

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"Reproduction matters to us all": Professor Kathy Niakan on why it’s vital to take a multidisciplined approach to understanding reproduction

Reproduction: Antiquity to the Present Day

About us

Cambridge Reproduction is a strategic research intiative that explores the urgent challenges posed by reproduction today.

We facilitate close engagement between the arts, humanities and social sciences, biology and medicine. By approaching reproduction collectively and across disciplines, we offer fresh perspectives on broad issues which range from global policies to those which affect individuals, families and populations.

Find out more