Parasitic worm 'increases women's fertility':
Infection with a species of parasitic worm increases the fertility of women, say scientists. A study of 986 indigenous women in Bolivia indicated a lifetime of Ascaris lumbricoides, a type of roundworm, infection led to an extra two children. Researchers, writing in the journal Science, suggest the worm is altering the immune system to make it easier to become pregnant.
Experts said the findings could lead to "novel fertility enhancing drugs".
But while Ascaris lumbricoides increased fertility in the nine-year study, hookworms had the opposite effect, leading to three fewer children across a lifetime. Prof Aaron Blackwell, one of the researchers , from the University of California Santa Barara, told the BBC News website: "The effects are unexpectedly large." He said women's immune systems naturally changed during pregnancy so they did not reject the foetus. Prof Blackwell said: "We think the effects we see are probably due to these infections altering women's immune systems, such that they become more or less friendly towards a pregnancy." He said using worms as a fertility treatment was an "intriguing possibility" but warned there was far more work to be done "before we would recommend anyone try this".
The paper suggests that hookworms are the roundworms may not increase lifetime fertility, but instead, suggests fecundity compensation.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 29 2015, @06:25PM
"The paper suggests that hookworms are the roundworms may not increase lifetime fertility, but instead, suggests fecundity compensation."
I cannot make sense of this sentence. Even ran it though Google Translate, no joy.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 29 2015, @06:43PM
Looks like the editor made a mistake, and ran two sentences together.
The fecundity compensation bit resembles evolution, in that animals - humans in this case - adapt to diminished child bearing capacity by starting to have offspring earlier, and more frequently.
If you're interested, click the link - it's much more informative than the little I put in the submission.
(Score: 2) by Reziac on Monday November 30 2015, @03:55AM
Roundworms (ascarids) in puppies are actually beneficial in that they help kickstart the puppy's immune system. It's possible to produce puppies that are entirely free of roundworms (which ordinarily are transmitted from the mother) but they're prone to neonatal diarrhea due to poor gut bacteria (need to be populated via yogurt rather than achieving it naturally). -- I'd discovered this relationship back in the 1980s... research with the same conclusion came out a couple years ago. I told you so!! :)
And there is no Alkibiades to come back and save us from ourselves.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 29 2015, @06:45PM
I think "fertility" refers to the number of successful egg-sperm contacts and "fecundity" to the number of successful pregnancies. I'm not sure, but that's the interpretation that makes sense.
I understand that sometimes sperm is attacked by the woman's immune system.
Also: many pregnancies result in spontaneous abortions (sometimes the woman can't even tell that something was wrong other than a "period" coming a bit later); this is either due to some problem with the pregnancy (too many mutations and it would result in a still-born or smth like that), or due to the woman's immune system attacking the pregnancy.
So the immune system, while not affecting the number of eggs, may strongly affect number of pregnancies carried to term successfully.
(Score: 4, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 29 2015, @06:40PM
> Parasitic worm increases women's fertility
It's ok, to just say "penis", you know.
(Score: 3, Funny) by richtopia on Sunday November 29 2015, @08:03PM
-1 "Pottymouth"
(Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday November 29 2015, @08:53PM
Is that you, Enos?
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 30 2015, @05:28AM
No, itsa me, Mario!
(Score: 2) by Non Sequor on Sunday November 29 2015, @06:53PM
I found the preprint of the paper (http://paa2015.princeton.edu/uploads/152631). The discussion is largely framed in terms of evolutionary biology, with comparisons to other parasite-host interactions. Based on the range of effects seen in other parasite-host interactions, the paper says that they would expect either an increase or decrease in fertility to be plausible from this perspective, depending on which effects dominate. So they say that the data is a good chance to find out what effects dominate in humans.
They don't address any possibility of a socioeconomic explanation for the correlation. This is a population that lives by subsistive foraging and slash-and-burn agriculture. Parasitic infection rates may be a strong indicator of which women are participating most heavily in which activities. There may be sharp social distinctions between subgroups, or possibly just a lifestyle gradient with individuals who are heavily involved in particular activities having the highest birth rates and individuals most heavily involved in other activities having the lowest birthrates.
Write your congressman. Tell him he sucks.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 29 2015, @07:01PM
The hookworms sound more beneficial to humanity in the long run. They should study them.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 30 2015, @06:44AM
Yeah, brethern! A post about female fertility from one that would deny them the ability to control the same! What are you saying, Runaway? Ought we to infect our wymans with worms, or just go shoot up the nearest Planned Parenthood Clinic. I gotta go. I feel the baby kicking, and I am not even female. I could be asphalt. What a culture of death to leave mothers with no other option than to take out a bunch of sad puppies who are lusting after a frigging machine? I am not rational, because all rationality has left the bullding! There will be vengeance, and the Lord says it is his, but I have no Lord! I am a democrat, a free person, and if anyone thinks they can make me submit to their totally messed up concept of a right to life, they better be ready. (I planned more venom, but it got stuck and wouldn't ejaculate, since I is a woman.)
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 30 2015, @05:10PM
I am not rational, because all rationality has left the bullding!
Amen to that.
(Score: 2) by Bot on Monday November 30 2015, @07:54PM
> or just go shoot up the nearest Planned Parenthood Clinic
whoa whoa let's be rational here.
Without proper planning, you risk two shooters picking the same clinic, you don't want them getting hurt by friendly fire, do you?
Account abandoned.