Curiosity Corner

For those who want to know more. Short pieces about how human reproduction actually works — including why no fertility treatment can ever be one hundred per cent effective.

Nothing here is simplified to reassure you. Nothing is complicated to impress you.

Short things — the longer ones live in Knowledge section.

A single cell with a glowing nucleus, surrounded by translucent pressed flowers and leaves

01 August 2026

What does 'egg quality' actually mean?

Patients are told they have 'good' or 'poor' egg quality. Very few people explain what an egg actually is — or why no supplement can make an older one genetically younger.

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A collage marking 25 July 1978: an archival photograph of the IVF team at a microscope, a handwritten note reading Louise Brown, an early embryo in a laboratory dish, a sleeping newborn, and a timeline running from 1976 to today

25 July 2026

25th of July: The birthday that changed reproductive medicine

On 25 July 1978, Louise Brown became the world's first baby born after IVF — and the story behind that date is less straightforward than it sounds.

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