London, May 16 (ANI): Conceiving babies using IVF rather than naturally could soon become rife among couples who have delayed having children until their late thirties or forties, perhaps to pursue a career, say scientists.
A new report says that advances in IVF technology mean it will be possible to produce embryos with a success rate of virtually 100 percent and cultivate them in computer-controlled storage facilities.
The couples may routinely go for IVF rather than sex to reproduce, giving themselves a better chance of conceiving through IVF than young adults in peak condition, who have only a one-in-four chance a month of conceiving naturally, according to the report.
Among over-35s, the chance of natural conception falls to less than one in 10. Modern fertility techniques have meant the healthiest couples already have a 50:50 chance of success using IVF, but the authors of the report say this is just the beginning.
They point to rapid advances in artificial reproduction for farm animals, which have led to a near-100 percent success rate in the production of cattle embryos and claim the technology could easily be adapted for humans.
“We are not quite at that stage yet, but it’s where we’re heading. Natural human reproduction is at best a fairly inefficient process. Within the next five to 10 years, couples approaching 40 will access the IVF industry first when they want to have a baby,” The Times quoted John Yovich, a co-author of the report, as saying.
The report has been published in the journal Reproductive BioMedicine Online. (ANI)
GM may drop Pontiac and GMC brands: report
NEW YORK (Reuters) – General Motors Corp (GM.N), facing a June 1 deadline to restructure under U.S. government oversight, may drop its Pontiac and GMC brands as part of broader cost-cutting moves, Bloomberg reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
The two brands are being studied as part of talks with an Obama administration task force assessing whether GM can be restructured without bankruptcy, sources told Bloomberg on Wednesday.
GM’s Chevrolet, Cadillac and Buick brands are likely to be safe, the news agency reported.
GM had said earlier it would keep Chevrolet, Cadillac, Buick, GMC and Pontiac while selling or closing Hummer, Saab and Saturn.
An investor group including private equity firm Black Oak Partners has approached GM about buying its Saturn brand assets and dealership network, both sides said on Wednesday.
GM’s Hummer brand has received interest from three bidders, none of them automakers, sources told Reuters on April 8.
The current offers for Hummer range from $100-$200 million, the sources said. GM has taken $13.4 billion of U.S. government loans since the beginning of the year.
A decision is yet to be reached on what would happen to Pontiac or GMC should GM opt not to keep them, Bloomberg reported, citing unidentified sources.
The GMC brand has a better chance of surviving than Pontiac, one of the sources told the agency.
A GM spokesman did not immediately return a call seeking comment on the report.
(Reporting by Anupreeta Das; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)