Wellbeing of Women

Slater

2002, University of Newcastle, Dr Hayden Homer

Spindle-checkpoint regulation of chromosome segregation during human female first meiotic division

Dr Hayden Homer, University of Newcastle - £85,282 over 24 months

A woman is born with her full complement of eggs: her eggs are as old as she is. Conception becomes more and more difficult with increasing age as the eggs get older and older and miscarriage becomes more frequent as does Down's Syndrome. It appears that chromosomal signs of ageing appear in the egg even before fertilisation and certain checks that assure correct genetic information passes on to daughter cells as the egg divides starts to fail. This study will throw light on what is going wrong in the eggs of older women and will be a vital starting point for new strategies to manage recurrent miscarriage, Down's Syndrome and IVF technology.