Scientists recently explored how pressure affects the growth and maturation of tiny egg cells, known as oocytes, when they are developing in a lab setting. They took small follicles, which are like tiny sacs containing oocytes, from baby mice and let them grow in a liquid called Alpha Minimal Essential Medium (α-MEM) for about two weeks. After that, they divided the ...

Researchers wanted to see what happens when they put pressure on tiny follicles from mice ovaries being grown in a lab dish. These follicles have baby egg cells inside, and sometimes these cells are grown outside the body to mature (we call this "in vitro maturation" or IVM). First, scientists took 12-day-old female mice and got some preantral follicles. Each follic...