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.

Depression in expectant parents during pregnancy increases risk of premature birth

Depression in both expectant mothers and fathers increases the risk of premature birth, finds a study published in BJOG: an International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology (BJOG).

20 Jan 2016

Newly discovered mechanism may help explain why some embryos not useful for fertility treatments

It's the dream of many infertile couples: to have a baby. Tens of thousands of children are born by in vitro fertilization, or IVF, a technique commonly used when nature doesn't take its course. However, embryos obtained when a sperm fertilizes an egg in a test tube often have defects.

5 Jan 2016

Children conceived through infertility treatments no more likely to have developmental delays

Children conceived via infertility treatments are no more likely to have a developmental delay than children conceived without such treatments, according to a study by researchers at the National Institutes of Health, the New York State Department of Health and other institutions.

5 Jan 2016

Growing number of North Americans traveling to Europe for low-cost in vitro fertilization treatments

North Americans travel to Europe for many reasons, including business, vacation or trips to learn more about their family heritage.

26 Dec 2015

Harley Street Fertility Clinic encourages couples to have more sex to increase chances of conception

Today, one of the UK’s leading fertility experts warns that couples with busy lives are not engaging in enough sexual intercourse and this is therefore impacting the nations fertility.

21 Dec 2015

Endocrine-disrupting chemicals pose threat to male reproductive health

The birth rate is declining in all industrialised countries, and socioeconomic factors and women's age are not solely to blame. Male reproductive health and environmental factors are also significant, as concluded in a new scientific review article.

11 Dec 2015

Environmental and lifestyle factors damage men's reproductive health

Environmental and lifestyle factors are damaging men's reproductive health and may be playing a large role in decreasing fertility rates in industrialized countries, a new study in Physiological Reviews reports. Socioeconomic influences and female reproductive health cannot solely be blamed for higher incidences of infertility, the study supports.

10 Dec 2015

New device can help diagnose stroke in less than 10 minutes

Minutes count when treating stroke, but current diagnostics take as long as three hours, careful lab work and skilled technicians to arrive at a conclusive diagnosis. Scientists at Cornell University's Baker Institute for Animal Health have developed a device that helps diagnose stroke in less than 10 minutes using a drop of blood barely big enough to moisten your fingertip.

1 Dec 2015

Opsin proteins contribute to heat-seeking movement of sperm

In their arduous journey to the egg, sperm "feel" the heat of the fallopian tube and "taste" the chemical signals of the ova. But a new Weizmann Institute of Science study published in Scientific Reports, in Nature, shows that sperm actually make quite a bit of use of sensors that have mainly been known to belong to the visual system.

26 Nov 2015

Research brings scientists closer to understanding mechanisms underlying genomic imprinting process

Research led by Dr. Keiji Tanimoto from the University of Tsukuba, Japan, has brought us closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying the phenomenon of genomic imprinting.

25 Nov 2015

New progenitor cells differentiate into mature cell types, prevent risk of unwanted tumors

Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) can become any type of cell in the adult body, offering great potential in disease modeling, drug discovery and creating replacement cells for conditions ranging from cardiovascular to Alzheimer's disease.

11 Nov 2015

INVO Bioscience obtains de novo clearance from FDA for INVOcell fertility treatment

INVO Bioscience, Inc., a medical device company focused on treatment option for patients diagnosed with infertility, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted the Company's de novo request for the INVOcell.

4 Nov 2015

New paper device could rapidly and inexpensively assess hepatitis B, male infertility

Scientists have developed a new paper device that analyzes DNA and could rapidly and inexpensively assess disparate conditions including hepatitis B and male infertility, which together affect millions of people around the world. The test, reported in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, could be of particular help diagnosing people in low-income areas.

29 Oct 2015

Study shows restoring testosterone production in men does not impact their fertility

Restoring testosterone production in men may be as effective as replacing it, without compromising their fertility. Two phase III clinical trials show that a drug that restores the body’s natural production of testosterone has no negative effect on a man’s sperm count while a topical testosterone gel causes a significant drop.

28 Oct 2015

Researchers report weak association between brain size and IQ

As early as 1836, the German physiologist and anatomist Friedrich Tiedemann, in an article in the Philosophical Transactions, expressed his opinion that "there is undoubtedly a connection between the absolute size of the brain and the intellectual powers and functions of the mind". With the advent of brain imaging methods (e.g., MRI, PET), reliable assessments of in-vivo brain volume and investigations of its association with IQ are now possible.

15 Oct 2015

How important is a mother’s diet before pregnancy? An interview with Dr Matt Silver

In humans, much is already known about the impact of maternal undernutrition during pregnancy, and its impact on growth, development and disease throughout the life course. However, until recently little was known about the effects of the nutritional environment around the time of conception.

14 Oct 2015

Father’s life experiences can affect health, development of both children and grandchildren

If you have diabetes, or cancer or even heart problems, maybe you should blame it on your dad's behaviour or environment. Or even your grandfather's.

9 Oct 2015

Two researchers awarded NIH's New Innovator and Early Independence Awards

Two researchers, Martin Jonikas of Carnegie's Department of Plant Biology and Zhao Zhang of the Department of Embryology, have been awarded the New Innovator and Early Independence Awards, respectively, from the National Institutes of Health.

7 Oct 2015

Sexual activity causes physiological changes in the body that increase women's chances of getting pregnant

Research from Indiana University has found that sexual activity triggers physiological changes in the body that increase a woman's chances of getting pregnant, even outside the window of ovulation.

6 Oct 2015

New study on deep-diving whales may help researchers create synthetic blood for human trauma patients

The ultra-stable properties of the proteins that allow deep-diving whales to remain active while holding their breath for up to two hours could help Rice University biochemist John Olson and his colleagues finish a 20-year quest to create lifesaving synthetic blood for human trauma patients.

26 Sep 2015