A novel, 3-dimensional, real-time, sperm-imaging technique, in which live spermatozoa are kept in a fluid environment, avoids staining and air-drying artifacts, and still allows for sperm to be used clinically.

Hysteroscopic adhesiolysis for Asherman syndrome resulted in restoration of a healthy uterine cavity in 95% of women treated, in 1–3 attempts, with a 28.7% recurrence rate of intrauterine adhesions.

To study the involvement of labelled CD133 bone marrow-derived stem cells (BMDSCs) in an animal model of Asherman syndrome. BMDSCs might improve the uterine tissue as a valuable source for endometrial restoration.

In normally cycling premenopausal women, SHBG concentrations, independently from other parameters, are negatively associated with bioavailable T and positively associated with adiponectin.

Antimullerian hormone (AMH) concentrations vary across ovulatory menstrual cycles with a periovulatory base and lower luteal phase levels. The number of antral follicles may be estimated from the level of AMH.

Twin children are not overexposed to sex steroids at the time of birth, despite higher concentrations in their mothers. Opposite-sex twin girls do not show androgenic influence from their male co-twins. Boys of an opposite-sex twin have lower LH concentrations compared with same-sex dizygotic twin boys.

Even in the presence of tubal patency, Chlamydia trachomatis immunoglobulin G3 seropositivity is associated with a lower likelihood of pregnancy and an increased risk of ectopic pregnancy.

Sexually active women had significantly higher luteal- phase P-E2 ratios and TH2-like cytokine profiles (interferon-g < interleukin-4) than sexually abstinent women.

In patients with normal ovarian reserve, comprehensive chromosome screening increases clinical and sustained implantation rates, thus improving embryo selection.

GCDFP15, MGB1, and SBEM were the most sensitive molecules to create a diagnostic panel for breast cancer malignant cell contamination, making cryopreservation of ovarian cortex–orthotransplantation safe for fertility preservation.

Neither pregnancy planning nor timing showed a significant association with preterm or small for gestational age births in this large prospective cohort controlling for confounders.

Adenomyosis uteri showed a unique nonhematopoietic cell population migrating from the basal endometrial glands into the stroma, and microtraumata at the junctional zone.

Inflammatory processes may contribute to pregnancy loss, possibly through their role in implantation.

In this randomized sibling study we found no differences in blastocyst development between sequential and single-step media.

This retrospective cohort study demonstrates that a history of ectopic pregnancy carries a higher risk of recurrent ectopic pregnancy after in vitro fertilization– intracytoplasmic sperm injection.

There is an association between ectopic pregnancy and the culture medium.

By presenting age-specific live birth rates in a population of very poor prognosis patients, we demonstrate that such patients even in their mid-40s can still achieve acceptable live-birth rates.

Oocyte banking is clinically efficient. Estimation of the likelihood of having a child is provided. There is no way of estimating donors’ oocytes survival when considering baseline characteristics, storage time, or controlled ovarian stimulation parameters.

Our randomized controlled trial showed poor ovarian response, a microdose GnRH-a flare-up protocol with a daily dose of 600 IU gonadotropin does not significantly increase the number of mature (MII) oocytes compared with 450 IU/d.

With the use of oocyte donation-originated siblings, and controlling for potential laboratory and clinical confounders, similar birth weight and duration of gestation were observed with both fresh and frozen embryos.

This study describes an association between male body mass index and the live-birth sex ratio of singletons following IVF or intracytoplasmic sperm injection treatment but a lack of association with likelihood of achieving live birth success.

The sperm DNA fragmentation index is w5-fold lower in testicular compared with in ejaculated sperm. The use of testicular sperm was associated with improved intracytoplasmic sperm injection outcomes in men with oligozoospermia and persistent high sperm DNA fragmentation.

Genome wide sperm DNA patterns in fertile and infertile men are highly predictive of fertility status and may predict embryonic developmental capacity during IVF.

Use of testicular sperm for intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is associated with a 50% pregnancy and live-birth rate for couples with 1 previous IVF–ICSI cycle failure with ejaculated sperm.

Reflections on “Results of Centralized Asherman Surgery, 2003–2013” by Zupi et al.

Reflections on “Chlamydia trachomatis IgG3 seropositivity is a predictor of reproductive outcomes in infertile women with patent fallopian tubes” by Steiner et al.

Adenomyosis (AM) remains one of the unsolved conundrums of gynecology. After decades of debate and numerous studies it is now well accepted that adenomyosis does not represent a sub-entity of endometriosis, although some symptoms appear to overlap.

Reflections on “Comparison of reproductive outcome in oligozoospermic men with high sperm DNA fragmentation undergoing intracytoplasmic sperm injection with ejaculated and testicular sperm” by Esteves et al.

Reflections on “Aberrant sperm DNA methylation predicts male fertility status and embryo quality” by Aston et al.

More than midway upon the road of my professional life, deluged with multiple unmet deadlines, I turned to The Lancet for inspiration. There I began reading an article that focused on redesigning the research enterprise. In the article was a table listing the positive and negative motivations for an individual conducting research, and I noted this brief statement of one of the positive reasons, “Joy in Moment of Revelation.” (1) It struck me. Poetic truth, stripped of definite articles, nouns building from one syllable to two to four, the melody from sonorous to cacophonous/caesura to mellifluous, the meaning from a human emotion, ephemeral, to eternal truth, utilizing words that resonate with the holiday season (when this Lancet article originally appeared), all of ancient Latin origin, but also firmly established in our English usage for close to a millennium.

The human microbiome in the male and female reproductive tracts may affect reproductive competence and provide a more complete understanding of the physiology and pathophysiology of reproduction.

Metagenomic research has begun to reveal the complex interaction between the gravid microbiome, maternal genetic polymorphisms, and spontaneous preterm birth.

Our understanding of the reproductive tract microbiome continues to evolve with the increased use of molecular-based organism identification. The microbial diversity within and between women may have previously been underestimated.

Advances in DNA sequencing have led to the understanding that the reproductive tract harbors a symbiotic microbiome. Recent methods for the study of the microbiome in reproduction raise new questions.

The microbiome, termed the “second human genome”, has a complex symbiotic relationship with the human body and has implications in health and disease at every stage of the reproductive process.