Ovulaid: chewing gum is enough to understand when we are fertile!
Many women are unable to understand when they are fertile and when they ovulate.
Not all observe the mucus in those days, others do not experience pain in the ovaries in conjunction with ovulation and still others have cycles so irregular as to make it very complicated to understand their own fertility.
Understanding the rhythms of your body would be very important because awareness of your fertility decreases the stress associated with the menstrual cycle. You learn to know it, to understand its timing and therefore also understand the fertile and non-fertile periods, for research or to avoid pregnancy.
Ovulation is the moment in which one of our two ovaries releases the egg which is mature and ready to be fertilized by a sperm . This event is anticipated by a series of hormonal changes . In fact, a few hours before ovulation there is an increase in the hormone LH. This hormone is detected by the very normal and cheap ovulation tests on urine, the so-called “Canadian”, or by the more expensive and digital tests.
Here we have explained in detail the various types of urine ovulation tests
Even before the LH peak there is an increase in estrogen, which is also responsible for the production of cervical mucus (and the flashing face in dual hormone indicator tests).
In short, once you learn the mechanism, everything becomes clearer.
To simplify the search for fertile days even more, a group of 13 students from the University of Copenhagen are working on a very special and in a certain sense revolutionary project.
It’s about Ovulaid .
Ovulaid: understanding fertility by chewing gum
Women are only fertile for a narrow window during the menstrual cycle a total of 6-7 days at most. These are the 4-5 days before ovulation, the day of ovulation and the day after.
While the oocyte can only survive 12-24 hours after ovulation, sperm can survive 3-5 days in the woman’s body after intercourse thanks to the fertile mucus.
Identifying these days would be easy (via the fertile days calculator ) if your menstrual cycle was always the same length, but that’s not always the case.
80% of women have variable menstrual cycles , making it very difficult for most women to determine when they are in their fertile window and therefore able to conceive.
To help women monitor their fertility in an even simpler and more practical way than ovulation tests done on blood or urine, the 13 students thought of Ovulaid , which is practically a hormone-based ovulation test in a rubber to chew.
The chewing gum contains a biosensor that can detect not only the LH surge but also the estrogen surge that occurs in the days leading up to the LH surge.
When estrogen is on the rise it means that the woman’s fertile window has begun and intercourse can be had every other day to look for a child, or intercourse protected if one wishes to avoid pregnancy.
How does Ovulaid work?
The increase of LH or estrogen in the woman’s body activates the biosensor contained in the chewing gum: the color of the gum will change according to the hormonal levels detected.
In the project there is an app to be able to interpret the results of the color assumed by the rubber.
Researchers look forward to the day when such data, stripped of all identifying details, thus completely anonymous, can be made available with women’s consent, to provide further data for research in this and related areas of health. reproductive.
The biosensor uses a genetically engineered yeast organism with the sequences needed to express estrogen and LH receptors and color-producing ligands. These sequences are cloned into the bacterium Escherichia coli are amplified and then assembled into a single plasmid. This plasmid is inserted into the genome of the Saccharomyces cerevisieae yeast cell where it produces receptors.
The researchers are currently working to ensure that the yeast survives in the gum, after which they plan to add flavors to the chewing gum.
They hope this ” smart chewing gum ” can help women track their fertility in a non-invasive, accurate and productive way.
The research team is also engaged in the various stages of development, including marketing, legal, manufacturing, financial and educational outreach needs.
They selected this specific yeast to minimize European marketing issues due to public concerns about the use of genetically modified organisms, and various other safety measures were also implemented.
Chewing gum, a not negligible detail, is biodegradable, which is a great advantage.
The international team of students wants to make the gum simple, affordable and accurate, available in various flavors through local distribution and packaged in an attractive but unobtrusive package.
According to the young team, it could be a real boon for gynecology clinics in poor and rural areas where resources for fertility testing are non-existent.
Kathryn Barlow is an OB/GYN doctor, which is the medical specialty that deals with the care of women's reproductive health, including pregnancy and childbirth.
Obstetricians provide care to women during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, while gynecologists focus on the health of the female reproductive system, including the ovaries, uterus, vagina, and breasts. OB/GYN doctors are trained to provide medical and surgical care for a wide range of conditions related to women's reproductive health.