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.

Breakthrough process could reduce number of frogs used in research

The number of clawed frogs used worldwide in research could soon be a fraction of the current number, following new research at the University of Portsmouth.

23 May 2017

Hormetic cognitive stress from exposure to technology may reduce age-related disease

It appears inevitable that technology is increasingly taking over our lives. However, it seems that it can also help us avoid aging and age-related disease, in a way that has not been described before.

19 May 2017

Study sheds light on how different families relate to each other following open embryo adoption

EXPERTS at the University of Huddersfield are researching the emergence of a new style of family creation that sees couples "adopt" embryos and, after the child is born, remain in contact with the donors and in many cases develop a special relationship with them.

19 May 2017

Sperm epigenetics and fertility

Epigenetics is a system of information that lies atop DNA to control which genes are accessible, active and inactive. Each cell in your body essentially has identical DNA, but they have different patterns of expression.

18 May 2017

WPI research program aims to understand gender differences in neurobiology

Many complicated neurological disorders appear to have a gender bias. Women, for example, are more likely to develop Alzheimer's disease, while men are at greater risk for Parkinson's disease.

17 May 2017

Scientists uncover thousands of human genes that are expressed differently in the two sexes

Men and women differ in obvious and less obvious ways -- for example, in the prevalence of certain diseases or reactions to drugs. How are these connected to one's sex? Weizmann Institute of Science researchers recently uncovered thousands of human genes that are expressed -- copied out to make proteins -- differently in the two sexes.

4 May 2017

EPFL researchers discover protein that kick-starts gene expression in nascent embryos

The formation of a human embryo starts with the fertilization of the oocyte by the sperm cell. This yields the zygote, the primordial cell that carries one copy each of the maternal and paternal genomes.

2 May 2017

Scientists use rooster testes to shed light on how germ cells fight viruses

Our bodies are constantly under siege by foreign invaders; viruses, bacteria and parasites that want to infiltrate our cells.

27 Apr 2017

New Cap-Score Sperm Function Test can be game changer for physicians who treat infertility

Two new publications in the journal Molecular Reproduction and Development validate the usefulness of a test that determines if sperm can capacitate, a process that allows them to fertilize an egg.

26 Apr 2017

Study shows how interplay between semen and female reproductive tract could impact fertility

For a mammal's sperm to succeed, it must complete the swim of its life to reach and fertilize an egg. That's easier if it swims through water, not goo.

19 Apr 2017

Paternal diet affects cognitive skills of offspring, mice study shows

The father's lifestyle affects the cognitive skills of his offspring -- at least in mice. Scientists at the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases have now shown that if male rodents are fed a diet rich in folic acid, methionine and vitamin B12, their progeny do not perform well in memory tests.

4 Apr 2017

Pioneering IVF technique offers hope to families with inheritable mitochondrial disorders

Details of a pioneering IVF technique using mitochondrial replacement therapy (MRT) have been revealed, giving hope to those families with inheritable mitochondrial disorders that they may be able to have healthy children in the future.

3 Apr 2017

Many transgender individuals lack knowledge and access to fertility options, survey finds

Nearly one-fourth of transgender individuals in Toronto, Canada, regard their own fertility as important, but most lack knowledge regarding and access to reproductive options, a new survey finds. Results of the survey will be presented Sunday at the Endocrine Society's 99th annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

3 Apr 2017

Parents can pass damaging effects of nighttime light exposure to offspring, study finds

Animals can pass the damaging effects of nighttime light exposure to their offspring, a new study has found, adding to a growing body of evidence that there's a health cost to our increasingly illuminated nights.

31 Mar 2017

Researchers shed light on genome reorganization after fertilization in single-cell mammalian embryo

Using a newly developed method researchers at the Institute of Molecular Biotechnology of the Austrian Academy of Sciences have been able to shed light on the complexity of genome reorganization occurring during the first hours after fertilization in the single-cell mammalian embryo

30 Mar 2017

Study identifies major barriers to fertility preservation in transgender youth

Few transgender adolescents opted to pursue fertility preservation, according to a report from Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago, published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

29 Mar 2017

New research shows how molecular motors are transported into cilia

Molecular motors produce the force that powers the beat of sperm cell tails to generate movement toward the egg cell for fertilization.

27 Mar 2017

Astrocytes prove to be surprisingly vital players in the body's clock

Until recently, work on biological clocks that dictate daily fluctuations in most body functions, including core body temperature and alertness, focused on neurons, those electrically excitable cells that are the divas of the central nervous system.

25 Mar 2017

UVA researchers discover unexpected interaction between men's testes and immune system

The University of Virginia School of Medicine has again shown that a part of the body thought to be disconnected from the immune system actually interacts with it, and that discovery helps explain cases of male infertility, certain autoimmune diseases and even the failure of cancer vaccines.