Sperm News and Research

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The term sperm refers to the male reproductive cells. In the types of sexual reproduction known as anisogamy and oogamy, there is a marked difference in the size of the gametes with the smaller one being termed the "male" or sperm cell. The human sperm cell is haploid, so that its 23 chromosomes can join the 23 chromosomes of the female egg to form a diploid cell.

Study reveals no negative effect of SARS-CoV-2 BNT162b2 vaccination on male fertility

Researchers analyzed the sperm parameters of males undergoing fertility treatment and found no effect from the BNT162b2 mRNA severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccine.

4 May 2021

New type of placental structure discovered in animals

The Cyclostomata is an ancient group of aquatic colonial suspension-feeders from the phylum Bryozoa. The fact that they have unique placentae has been discovered by researchers at St Petersburg University and the University of Vienna.

20 Apr 2021

Competition and natural selection drive the size discrepancy of sperm and egg cell

In most living animals, egg cells are vastly larger than sperm cells. In humans, for example, a single egg is 10 million times the volume of a sperm cell.

19 Apr 2021

HP1a is a key epigenetic regulator that maintains chromosome integrity

The information of the human genome is encoded by approximately 3 billion DNA base pairs and packaged into 23 pairs of chromosomes.

16 Apr 2021

Mother's stress levels during conception could be a determinant of fetal sex

A study carried out by scientists from the University of Granada has revealed that women who experience stress both before becoming pregnant and during conception are almost twice as likely to have a girl as a boy.

6 Apr 2021

New genetic link to male infertility found

The findings published in eLife show that men with this unstable subtype of the Y chromosome have a significantly increased risk of genomic rearrangements.

1 Apr 2021

Living environment may affect male reproductive health, research suggests

New research, led by scientists at the University of Nottingham, suggests that the environment in which men live may affect their reproductive health.

1 Apr 2021

First model of early human embryo generated from skin cells

In a discovery that will revolutionise research into the causes of early miscarriage, infertility and the study of early human development - an international team of scientists led by Monash University in Melbourne, Australia has generated a model of a human embryo from skin cells.

22 Mar 2021

Exposure to endocrine disruptors in utero associated with poorer sperm quality in adulthood

A growing number of studies show that the environmental factors and lifestyle habits of pregnant women play an important role in the health of their child. But how about the semen quality of young men?

19 Mar 2021

Study identifies how environmental information is transmitted by non-DNA molecules in the sperm

It has long been understood that a parent's DNA is the principal determinant of health and disease in offspring.

16 Mar 2021

SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater may pose risks to marine mammals

Endangered marine mammals — seals, dolphins, whales, and otters — are almost as vulnerable as humans in becoming infected from severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Researchers from the Dalhousie University in Canada published a study in Science of The Total Environment that found human wastewater as a potential mode of coronavirus transmission to animals.

16 Mar 2021

Somatic gene mutations in brain cells could contribute to schizophrenia pathology

Schizophrenia is a neurodevelopmental disorder that disrupts brain activity producing hallucinations, delusions, and other cognitive disturbances. Researchers have long searched for genetic influences in the disease, but genetic mutations have been identified in only a small fraction--fewer than a quarter--of sequenced patients.

9 Mar 2021

Moral outrage is an attractive behavior to people seeking long-term relationships

Moral outrage is an attractive behavior, particularly to people seeking long-term relationships, according to a new paper by researchers including a University of Arkansas psychologist.

9 Mar 2021

Study reveals physical phenomena relied by oocytes to grow big

Egg cells are by far the largest cells produced by most organisms. In humans, they are several times larger than a typical body cell and about 10,000 times larger than sperm cells.

8 Mar 2021

Researchers discover a safe, effective, reversible male contraceptive agent

In a new paper published by Nature Communications, The Lundquist Institute (TLI) Investigator Wei Yan, MD, PhD, and his research colleagues spell out an innovative strategy that has led to the discovery of a natural compound as a safe, effective and reversible male contraceptive agent in pre-clinical animal models

4 Mar 2021

Study reveals the effect of pollution on male fertility levels of all species

New research has found that shrimp-like creatures on the South Coast of England have 70 per cent less sperm than less polluted locations elsewhere in the world.

3 Mar 2021

Researchers make gametes from xenogenic mouse stem cells

Making gametes such as sperm and eggs from pluripotent stem cells, primitive cells that can make all the tissues, greatly contributes to efficient reproduction of livestock animals and future assisted reproductive medicine. Researchers pave the way to achieve this goal using a body of xenogenic animals.

2 Mar 2021

Newly discovered protein regulates molecular motors in response to light

Single-celled algae and animal sperm cells are widely separated in evolution but both swim in the same way, by waving their protruding hairs, called cilia or flagella. Motion is driven by molecular motors, complex assemblies of proteins that exert a force when changing shape.

1 Mar 2021

Retroviruses invading the koala germline contribute to high cancer rates

Koalas are facing multiple environmental and health issues which threaten their survival. Along with habitat loss - accelerated by last year’s devastating bush fires – domestic dog attacks and road accidents, they suffer from deadly chlamydial infections and extremely high frequency of cancer.

26 Feb 2021

Uninherited genetic mutations can cause spina bifida

Genetic mutations which occur naturally during the earliest stages of an embryo's development can cause the severe birth defect spina bifida, finds a new experimental study in mice led by UCL scientists.

19 Feb 2021