In March, first lady Jill Biden announced a new White House women’s health initiative that highlighted a seemingly obscure research question: what if you could delayThe question comes from a field of research that has started to draw attention over the past few years, as scientists who study longevity and women’s health have come to realise that the female reproductive system is far more than just a baby-maker.
Wegrzyn says she hopes the White House initiative, in which researchers and start-ups are competing for a slice of the program’s $US100 million budget, would highlight the connection between menopause and longevity, while also attracting more funding and talent to the field. One company, Oviva Therapeutics, is in the early stages of testing – mainly in mice and cats – whether a pharmaceutical version of anti-Müllerian hormone , which modulates how many follicles mature in each menstrual cycle, could be used to reduce how many eggs are lost.