From evidence to vision–from <i>Developments</i> to <i>Directions</i>

Human Reproduction is dedicated to advancing reproductive science and medicine by publishing trustworthy evidence of the highest quality, innovation, and impact. As our current celebration of 40 years of high-impact science demonstrates, landmark studies published in Human Reproduction have consistently driven the field forward (Barratt et al., 2026). While evidence-based medicine remains our cornerstone, we consider innovation equally indispensable. As in all areas of science and medicine, the volume of publications in our field continues to grow steadily—and not all are sufficiently solid or robust to withstand scrutiny. To help readers stay informed, Human Reproduction commissions and publishes mini-reviews as part of the Developments in Reproductive Biology and Medicine series. These articles concisely summarize particularly important and rapidly developing areas of reproductive medicine where the existing literature remains insufficient to support more substantive reviews. Our aim is to provide readers with accessible, up-to-date concise overviews of the most topical areas in our field. Topics and authors are selected through a rigorous process overseen by our Editorial Board and expert Associate Editors, ensuring quality, robustness, and novelty. The series was relaunched in November 2022 (Di Persio and Neuhaus, 2023), and since then, 50 mini-reviews have been published. Their success is reflected in the substantial download and citation figures they continue to attract. Building on the successful foundation established by the Developments series, we have now introduced a companion series: Directions in Reproductive Biology and Medicine. In this occasional series (published 2–4 times per year), authors of selected Developments mini-reviews are invited to look beyond the current evidence and contemplate the future trajectory of their specialist area—identifying priority research questions and reflecting on the possibilities and likely evolution of their field. Where Developments synthesizes what we know, Directions envisions where we are headed. The ‘Directions’ series was launched with an engaging contribution authored by John Aitken (Aitken, 2024) who—building upon his fascinating mini-review (Aitken, 2023)—speculated on the mechanisms by which a father’s age impacts the health and wellbeing of his children. Michael Riegler and colleagues (Hammer et al., 2025) followed with a topical discussion of the technical underpinnings of AI foundation models and their potential applications in ART, extending the ground laid by their previous successful Developments mini-review (Riegler et al., 2021). We invite you to revisit these excellent papers, as we present the third contribution to the Directions series—an article written by Emre Seli and colleagues (Yildirim et al., 2026), following on from their recent well-received mini-review (Yildirim and Seli, 2024) that illuminates the intriguing role of mitochondria as therapeutic targets in assisted reproduction. Together, we hope that the Developments and Directions series will serve as valuable resources for clinicians and researchers alike, and will not only inform, but inspire them to drive science and innovation forward, shaping the future of reproductive medicine.