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.

Children born after fertility treatment do not have greater risk of developing cancer

Children born after assisted reproductive technology do not appear to be at greater risk of developing cancer than other children, according to the first study to look at the long-term cancer risk in ART children compared to those in the general population or who were naturally conceived by subfertile women.

4 Feb 2019

Warmer water and chemical exposure influence gene expression in North American fish

Warmer water temperatures, combined with low-level exposure to chemicals already known to be harmful to aquatic life, influence the expression of genes in the offspring of an abundant North American fish species - and threaten organisms whose sex determination is sensitive to water temperature.

1 Feb 2019

Research provides new understanding of genome regulation in early life

After the fertilization of an egg cell, two become one; two sets of genetic information combine to form a genome. We can think of the egg and sperm as information capsules with stored instructions for starting a new life, but post fertilization, what kick starts the interpretation of these instructions?

29 Jan 2019

Reassuring findings on the link between antidepressants and fertility

Based on limited research, there's no strong evidence that selective serotonin-reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) - the most widely used class of antidepressants - have an adverse impact on fertility, according to a paper in the Harvard Review of Psychiatry.

25 Jan 2019

Study sheds new light on male infertility

Hope has emerged for infertile men as scientists at Newcastle University have understood the importance of a gene in regulating the production of fully-functioning sperm.

24 Jan 2019

The connection between the Pope and contraceptive pills

Millions of women around the world use the combined hormonal oral contraceptive pill whcih has been around the past six decades. The usual method advised is a 21 day cycle of the pill followed by a 7 day break when the woman bleeds.

22 Jan 2019

MAR treatments unlikely to be cause of premature or low birth weight babies

Children born through medically assisted reproduction, such as IVF, are at higher risk of being premature and to be born low birth weight, but it’s unlikely to be due to the procedures used, according to a new study published in The Lancet from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

14 Jan 2019

One reason behind frequent miscarriages could be faulty sperms

Scientists at the Imperial College in London have found that one of the reasons behind frequent miscarriages in a woman could be the fault of the sperms of their partners. Recurrent miscarriages are defined as three or more miscarriages that occur before 20 weeks of pregnancy are completed. One in 50 couples in the UK are affected by recurrent miscarriages.

6 Jan 2019

Sperm health may play a role in recurrent miscarriages

The early-stage study, from scientists at Imperial College London, investigated the sperm quality of 50 men whose partners had suffered three or more consecutive miscarriages.

4 Jan 2019

Research reveals factors at play in genetic incompatibility of different species

Most evolutionary biologists distinguish one species from another based on reproductivity: members of different species either won't or can't mate with one another, or, if they do, the resulting offspring are often sterile, unviable, or suffer some other sort of reduced fitness.

4 Jan 2019

Researchers reveal novel mechanism for sperm stem cell number control

The steady production of sperm relies on the number of sperm stem cells in the testis remaining constant. Researchers including Asst. Prof. Yu Kitadate and Prof. Shosei Yoshida and Prof. Benjamin Simons have revealed a novel mechanism for stem cell number control.

21 Dec 2018

Research explores effects of cannabis use on males’ reproductive health

As legal access to marijuana continues expanding across the U.S., more scientists are studying the effects of its active ingredient, tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), in teens, adults and pregnant women.

19 Dec 2018

Brigham researchers develop automated, low-cost tool to predict a woman's ovulation

Investigators from Brigham and Women's Hospital are developing an automated, low-cost tool to predict a woman's ovulation and aid in family planning.

11 Dec 2018

New book encompasses the vast history of reproduction

A new book is the first to encompass the vast history of how living things procreate, from the banks of the ancient Nile to the fertility clinics of today.

7 Dec 2018

Parent's exposure to dirty air may spell heart trouble for offspring, study suggests

A parent's exposure to dirty air before conception might spell heart trouble for the next generation, a new animal study suggests.

5 Dec 2018

Scientists reveal how DNA damage leads to cancer and hereditary diseases

Scientists revealed how DNA damage influences mutations. Turned out that its contribution to mutagenesis was underestimated and many of the inheritance mutations are caused not by errors in DNA doubling, but by damage to this fragile molecule.

5 Dec 2018

Longer duration of infertility in men linked with lower sperm count

A longer duration of infertility was associated with lower sperm count and other parameters of impaired sperm in a BJU International study of 1644 infertile men. Also, older age and higher body mass index were associated with a longer duration of infertility.

5 Dec 2018

Gel formulation of a new male contraceptive on trial

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is funding a clinical trial to see the safety and effectiveness of a new male contraceptive that would be available in gel formulation.

29 Nov 2018

Certain dietary supplements can have beneficial effect on sperm quality, study suggests

Infertility affects 15% of the world population and is recognized by the World Health Organisation as a global health problem.

26 Nov 2018

Sons of fathers who smoke have 51% lower sperm count

Studies have repeatedly linked maternal smoking during pregnancy with reduced sperm counts in male offspring. Now a research team at Lund University in Sweden has discovered that, independently of nicotine exposure from the mother, men whose fathers smoked at the time of pregnancy had half as many sperm as those with non-smoking fathers.

22 Nov 2018