Repeated implantation failure in the in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatment is a growing concern and fertility clinics worldwide perform laser manipulation of the embryos prior to the embryo transfer so that chances of successful hatching, implantation and consequent pregnancy are expected to increase. However, the observations from the recent randomized controlled studies are contradictory and do not demonstrate any significant benefits of hatching on the pregnancy rate possibly due to technical differences in the protocols followed by the clinic or due to detrimental effects of laser manipulation on the embryos. Furthermore due to technical and ethical limitations, there is no report on how hatching takes place in human embryos after laser manipulation. Since human and mouse embryos have similarities in their size, behavior, and zonapellucida architecture, we use mouse as the study model to evaluate various laser manipulation techniques employed in IVF practice to evaluate their consequences on early embryo development The results of this investigation are expected to help fertility specialists to improve the embryo implantation potential and pregnancy rate by applying appropriate laser manipulation techniques. Although non contact diode lasers are being used in the embryo manipulation, recently, concern has been expressed on the safety of these techniques especially laser manipulation of cryopreserved embryos as these embryos experience extensive stress during the process of freeze-thawing. We hypothesize that laser energy delivered on the embryos during manipulation even at lowest level may have impact on the metabolic process and subsequent embryonic/fetal development. Hence we use non-invasive Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR) based fingerprinting of spent embryo culture medium to assess the influence of laser hatching on the metabolism of human and mouse embryos. Besides, laser manipulated embryos are analyzed for the expression pattern of damage response genes in the embryos. The results from this study are expected to help fertility experts by acquiring valuable information on the appropriate technique for the manipulation with minimum or no adverse effects. (Supported by Indian Council of Medical Research, Govt. of India)