Amazon has discontinued its secretive "Encore" project to develop an at-home fertility tracker, resulting in layoffs for around 100 employees. The project, part of Amazon's Grand Challenge division, aimed to launch a device and app that would predict fertility through saliva testing but was ultimately terminated to control costs. CNBC reports: The project was born out of the company's 2020 acquisition of Wisconsin-based startup bluDiagnostics, the sources said. BluDiagnostics was founded in 2015 by Weibel, Katie Brenner and Jodi Schroll, all of whom joined Grand Challenge. The startup had developed a thermometer-like device, called FertilityFinder, to help women track their fertility from home by testing their saliva and measuring two key hormones, estradiol and progesterone. The results of the test were viewable through a corresponding app. Business Insider reported on aspects of the fertility device in 2022, when its codename was Project Tiberius. The team was working to develop its own saliva collection device and mobile app, which could predict when a user might be in the fertile window. Users could also log their period symptoms, sexual activity and other data to assist with tracking their fertility. There are similar offerings on the market from companies including Inne, Oova, Ava and Mira, along with fertility and ovulation tracking apps such as Flo, Clue and Max Levchin's Glow. Amazon initially aimed to release the product this year, but the timing was pushed out after the team encountered technical issues with the device, one of the people said. It was a costly endeavor and required significant upfront investments for lab research and development, in addition to the high salaries for scientists and engineers, the sources said, adding that the team's weekly overhead was roughly $1.5 million. Amazon didn't comment on the figure. Only one project now remains active within Grand Challenge. Its focus is on health tech, the people said. "We regularly review our businesses to ensure we focus on areas where we can make the biggest difference for customers," said Amazon spokesperson Margaret Callahan. "Following a recent review, we've decided to discontinue this project within Grand Challenge, and we're working directly with employees whose roles are impacted to support them through the transition and help them find other opportunities within Amazon."

Read more of this story at Slashdot.

6 million women between the ages of 15 and 44 are clinically infertile. Infertility presents a heartbreaking struggle for many Orthodox couples who wonder whether it is God's will for them to be childless, or whether new fertility technologies (and which ones?) are appropriate. In this edition Kevin speaks with Orthodox theologian and ethicist Fr. John Breck about infertility and what options Orthodox Christian couples have to deal with it within an Orthodox context.

Fr. Pat explains that Pascha is not about the resurrection of a god, but rather about the resurrection of a Jew who lived and breathed and ate with us here on earth.

Boston – Women whose jobs require heavy lifting or shift work may experience decreased fertility levels, according to a study from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

Istanbul — A recent study involving female mice shows that only four weeks of shift work-like light patterns were enough to disrupt their biological clock and reduce fertility.

Only half of people with early-onset cancers reported discussing fertility preservation options prior to their oncology treatments, according to results of a cross-sectional study published Nov. 12 in JAMA Network Open.

Only half of people with early-onset cancers reported discussing fertility preservation options prior to their oncology treatments, according to results of a cross-sectional study published Nov. 12 in JAMA Network Open.

The post Fertility at work: Employers can make all the difference appeared first on Personnel Today.

New lawsuits claim that the U.S. Defense Department and the Department of Veteran Affairs are making it difficult and sometimes impossible for veterans to get infertility treatments. Multiple lawsuits were filed Wednesday in federal courts in New York and Boston seeking to hold the United States accountable for creating obstacles to health care access for a population that advocates say has a higher rate of infertility than the population at large. The lawsuits seek to obtain in vitro fertilization coverage for military service members and veterans who don't fit the Veterans Affairs definition of infertility as pertaining solely to married, heterosexual couples.

The post Veterans sue US Defense and Veterans Affairs departments to get access to infertility treatments first appeared on Federal News Network.

From 'fruitless' dating to financial pressures, people share their views on falling fertility rates.

Title: HPV Vaccine Doesn't Put Girls' Fertility at Risk: Study
Category: Health News
Created: 8/24/2018 12:00:00 AM
Last Editorial Review: 8/27/2018 12:00:00 AM

The Park Family�s Infertility Story

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National Bureau of Economic Research

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The diagnosis of cancer is a shock in itself and then comes another - the risk of infertility