Ground Report

Scientists claim to have unearthed a cause of premature menopause-an enzyme which controls the rate at which women ovulate.The researchers have discovered the PTEN enzyme that keeps immature eggs from ripening prematurely. "It is a kind of brake,’ according to lead researcher Prof Ilop Huhtaniemi of Imperial College,London.The researchers carried out an experiment on rodents and found that in those without PTEN in their eggs,the entire pool of immature eggs is activated prematurely,becoming ripe so the mouse uses up it store of eggs more rapidly.The team is planning to investigate whether mutations in the PTEN gene are linked with premature menopause in women."PTEN works in humans too.We have one good candidate to explain why some women develop premature menopause," Huhtaniemi was quoted.