Ectogenesis -- literally creation outside the womb -- is a word coined by British geneticist J.B.S. Haldane in 1923 as he provocatively predicted future scientific frontiers. Fast-moving assisted reproductive technologies assure us that ectogenesis is no longer the fantastical creation of futuristic writers. Instead, it is likely to manifest in one of three ways. It may be a quiet byproduct of the lessening gap between in vitro procedures and the use of sophisticated neonatal environments. It may arise from endometrial tissue ladders grown into artificial wombs. Or, it may be as bizarre as that envisioned in Brave New World where there is an intentional effort to create an artificial womb from which the development of a human being may be scrutinized and monitored from start to finish. / The morass of hasty and reckless legislation passed in various countries to deal with the creation and termination of embryonic life shows that few are prepared to deal with exigencies of ectogenesis when it arrives insidiously or abruptly. Moreover, Eastern thought and traditions will conflict with Western ideology with respect to the beginning and maintenance of human life. This thesis suggests that the language, structure and philosophy of the United Kingdom's Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act is well crafted and should be considered as a world-wide paradigm. This thesis also suggests that ectogenesis will mandate that the interests of the developing fetus override notions of reproductive autonomy.

During the growth phase of oogenesis, mammalian oocytes increase several hundred-fold in volume. Although it is known that ovarian granulosa cells send growth promoting signals, neither these external signals nor the transduction pathways that become activated in the oocyte are known. Therefore, the presence and the activity of candidate signaling pathways in growing murine oocytes were investigated. By immunoblotting, the MAP kinases, ERK1 and ERK2, as well as their activating kinase MEK, were detected in oocytes at all stages of growth. However, using a phospho-specific anti-ERK antibody, no immunoreactive species were detectable in isolated granulosa cells or oocytes at any stage of growth, except metaphase II. Phosphorylated ERK was also present, although in smaller quantities, in oocyte-granulosa cell complexes at the later stages of growth. Furthermore, when ovarian sections were stained with an anti-ERK antibody, the protein was found to be highly concentrated in the cytoplasm of oocytes at all stages of growth, with lower levels in the nucleus. Another member of the MAP kinase family, Jun kinase (JNK), was investigated. By immunoblotting, JNK was detected in growing oocytes. Experiments using an anti-JNK antibody on ovary sections revealed the protein to be uniformly distributed in non-growing and growing oocytes with no evidence of preferential nuclear localization. These results imply that an interaction between the oocyte and the granulosa cells may be required to generate phosphorylated ERK. They also imply that growth signals probably are not relayed through ERK, but do not exclude a role for Jun kinase in mediating oocyte growth.

Thesis (M.D.)-University of Natal, Durban, 1979.

Access to abstract restricted until 12/14/2014. / Access to thesis restricted until 12/14/2014. / Department of Biology

The gene capicua is required for the establishment of dorsal-ventral polarity in the Drosophila melanogaster ovary. Loss of capicua function in the follicle cells results in dorsalization of both the embryo and eggshell. The most prominent dorsal features of the Drosophila eggshell are the dorsal appendages. We show that loss of capicua function results in the ventral ectopic specification of dorsal appendage-producing follicle cell fate. This cell fate change is due in part to the ectopic expression of genes such as mirror and Broad-Complex in capicua mutant ovaries. When either mirror or Broad-Complex are ectopically expressed independently of loss of capicua function, they generate a phenotype similar to the capicua mutant phenotype. We propose that Capicua normally acts in the ventral follicle cells to repress the expression of genes that pattern the dorsal follicle cells. EGF receptor signaling may normally inactivate Capicua repression in the dorsal follicle cells.

Includes bibliographical references. / 1 v. (various foliations) : ill. ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / Indicates that retarded fetal growth in sheep, associated with restricted supply of substrates to the fetus, is accompanied by reduced concentrations of insulin-like growth factor I in fetal blood and its decreased production in several major fetal tissues. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Adelaide, Dept. of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, 1995

Bibliography: leaves 148-166. / xi, 166 leaves : ill. (some col.) ; 30 cm. / Title page, contents and abstract only. The complete thesis in print form is available from the University Library. / The chicken embryo's ability to match the perfusion of its chorioallantoic membrane to regional differences in shell conductance was investigated. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--Adelaide University, Dept. of Environmental Biology, 2001

Diss. (sammanfattning) Uppsala : Univ., 2004. / Härtill 4 uppsatser.

Thesis (Ph. D.) -- University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas, 2004. / Vita. Bibliography: References located at the end of each chapter.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Michigan, 1997. / Includes bibliographical references.