Sperm News and Research

RSS

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: Recombination is crucial for proper segregation of chromosomes into germs cells

From avocado plants to baker's yeast, humans to zebras, sexually reproducing organisms must create germ cells that contain half the number of chromosomes found in a typical body cell.

7 May 2020

Father's Toxoplasma infection can impact their offspring's brain health and behavior

Australian researchers have revealed for the first time that males infected with the Toxoplasma parasite can impact their offspring's brain health and behavior.

28 Apr 2020

New study can help track the impact of climate change on honey bees

New research from the University of British Columbia and North Carolina State University could help scientists track how climate change is impacting the birds and the bees... of honey bees.

28 Apr 2020

COVID-19 unlikely to be transmitted through semen, study shows

COVID-19 is unlikely to be spread through semen, according to University of Utah Health scientists who participated in an international study of Chinese men who recently had the disease.

22 Apr 2020

Advanced paternal age associated with risk of neurodevelopmental disorders in children

It is no secret that genetic factors play a role in determining whether children have neurodevelopmental disorders. Maternal exposure to drugs and viral or bacterial illnesses can be detrimental too.

21 Apr 2020

Novel FIMP protein may help orchestrate mammalian fertilization

Fertilization is a fundamental process in sexual reproduction when the combination of male and female gametes blends genetic material to create a new unique individual. Now, researchers from Japan have identified a new factor that may help orchestrate this vitally complex life event.

16 Apr 2020

New mathematical model can help explain why so many pregnancies and IVF attempts fail

Scientists have created a mathematical model that can help explain why so many pregnancies and in vitro fertilization attempts fail.

13 Apr 2020

Why do so many pregnancies and in vitro fertilization attempts fail?

Scientists have created a mathematical model that can help explain why pregnancies and in vitro fertilization attempts fail.

13 Apr 2020

Cultural beliefs and norms are barriers to adoption of vasectomy

Cultural beliefs and norms are making the adoption of vasectomy in Tanzania challenging.

8 Apr 2020

New method helps preserve testicular cells, could save endangered feline species

A research team at the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) developed a method to isolate and cryopreserve testicular cells.

1 Apr 2020

Paternal alcohol consumption before conception could affect child development

Scientists at the University of California, Riverside, have explored the relationship between parental alcohol consumption -- before conception in the case of fathers and during pregnancy in the case of mothers -- and offspring development.

30 Mar 2020

Key protein in sperm production could aid male infertility treatments

Researchers have discovered that a key protein drives sperm production, knowledge that may help infertile couples conceive.

26 Mar 2020

Targeting critical enzyme for sperm formation could help address male infertility

While some of our body's cells divide in a matter of hours, the process of making sperm, meiosis, alone takes about 14 days from start to finish. And fully six of those days are spent in the stage known as the pachytene, when pairs of chromosomes from an individual's mother and father align and connect.

25 Mar 2020

Diet affects sperm and the health of offspring

A new study published in the journal Molecular Cell, in March 2020, reports that parental diet is a crucial factor in the future metabolic health of the offspring.

19 Mar 2020

Researchers uncover molecular events underlying paternal diet-induced metabolic disorders in children

When parents eat low-protein or high-fat diets it can lead to metabolic disorders in their adult offspring. Now, an international team led by researchers at the RIKEN Cluster for Pioneering Research have identified a key player and the molecular events underlying this phenomenon in mice.

19 Mar 2020

Increased competition between males can lead to higher rate of harmful mutations in offspring

Males that face tougher competition for females risk having offspring with a greater number of harmful mutations in their genome than males without rivals.

16 Mar 2020

SPRK1 enzyme plays role in reorganizing the paternal genome during fertilization

A sperm enters an egg, an embryo develops and eventually a baby is born. But back up a second -- how does the mother's half-genome actually merge with the father's half-genome to form one new human genome?

13 Mar 2020

Study: Antioxidant supplements do not improve semen quality among men with infertility

Antioxidant supplements do not improve semen quality among men with infertility, according to a new study supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health.

28 Feb 2020

Healthy diet, healthier sperm, greater fertility

A new study published in the journal JAMA Network Open in February 2020 reports that Danish men who followed a healthy diet had the highest total sperm counts, and a better hormonal profile concerning hormonal regulators of fertility, compared to those on a Western or other less healthy types of diet.

23 Feb 2020

New quick and convenient microfluidic chip to assess male fertility

Current tests for male fertility include measuring the concentration and motility of spermatozoa. However, other characteristics of sperm, such as their ability to follow a chemical trail to the egg, can influence the likelihood of fertilization.

19 Feb 2020