Laronda Lab

How much do you know about the reproductive system? Maybe you’ve heard of steroid hormones like estrogen and testosterone, or perhaps you think of puberty and menstruation or eggs, sperm and pregnancy. But while hormones and their processes are necessary for reproduction, they are influenced by and influence our whole body. It’s not even all about reproduction. 

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Your reproductive system directly impacts every other system in your body, yet we spend so little time learning about its various functions. Legislation surrounding sex and reproductive biology education in schools varies across states, and leading medical organizations recognize the importance of comprehensive reproductive health education. That’s why our research lab has started this blog: to show you why we think reproductive science is worth studying. 

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Standard biology education only covers the very basics of the reproductive system, but so much gets left out. For example, you probably know about the steroid hormones estrogen and progesterone and that they play important roles in puberty. But did you know that hormones produced from the gonads, the hormone- and sex cell-producing organs like testes and ovaries, can affect our cardiovascular, musculoskeletal and nervous systems, as well? Or that testosterone can be converted into estrogen in the human body? Hormones, and the gonads that produce them, affect so much more than you may think. 

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We hope to show you the fascinating world of reproductive science and endocrinology, the study of hormones. In the following months, we’ll be regularly sharing posts about topics that excite us, giving a crash course on the basics and covering the latest developments in the field. What’s a gonad? What do hormones actually do? How does reproductive science turn into reproductive medicine?

 

Follow along with Hormone Broadcast, where we share the science behind our bodies’ signals. ​