Science And Technology

In vitro fertilisation  ( IVF )  In vitro fertilisation  is a process of  fertilisation  where an  egg  is combined with  sperm  outside the body,  in vitro  ("in glass"). The process involves monitoring and stimulating a woman's ovulatory process, removing an  ovum  or ova (egg or eggs) from the woman's  ovaries  and letting sperm fertilise them in a liquid in a laboratory. The fertilised egg ( zygote ) undergoes  embryo culture  for 2–6 days, and is then transferred to the same or another woman's  uterus , with the intention of establishing a successful  pregnancy . IVF is a type of  assisted reproductive technology  used for  infertility  treatment and  gestational surrogacy , in which a fertilised egg is implanted into a surrogate's uterus, and the resulting child is genetically unrelated to the surrogate. Some countries banned or otherwise regulate the availa...

produce a variety of compounds that can be divided into primary metabolites and secondary metabolites. Primary metabolites are essential for the survival of the  plant  and include sugars,  protein s and amino acids. Secondary metabolites were once believed to be waste products. They are not essential to the  plant ’s survival, but the  plant  does suffer without them. Secondary metabolites also have many uses for us, too. Some are beneficial, and others can be toxic. ALKALOIDS Alkaloids are secondary metabolites. They are primarily composed of  nitrogen  and are widely used in medicine. They can also be highly toxic. Papaver somniferum Morphine  was the first alkaloid to be found. Morphine comes from the  plant   Papaver sonniferum , or the opium poppy. It is used as a pain reliever in patients with severe pain levels and cough suppressant. Another example of an alkaloid is  cocaine . It can be highly dangerou...