They’ve found the biological clock. It’s really an egg timer. The latest research out of Israel found a cluster of genes that determine a woman’s ability to conceive past a certain age.
The ability to identify the genetic profile in women would allow doctors to predict when it would be too late for a woman to conceive.
The Israeli study, conducted by Dr. Neri Laufer of Hadassah University Hospital in Jerusalem examined blood samples of eight women who had children past the age of 45. Most had at least six children and rare instances of miscarriage. The blood was compared to the blood of six women the same age who had their last child by age 30.
The difference was a matter of 50 genes that were present in the extra-fertile women but non-existent in the others. The genes appear to be protectors against DNA damage and early cell death, both of which age the ovaries. The same cluster was found in a later study of Bedouin women.
The implications of the newfound knowledge could aid in developing a customized timeline for every woman. For most women, fertility has a sharp drop-off after age 37. But if specific genetic markers can be identified, the age at which a woman stops being fertile could be pinpointed allowing her to plan a family around her career and other life issues.
This could also lead to other advance knowledge like predicting the onset of menopause.
