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.

Researchers reveal mechanism that determines direction of egg flow in fallopian tubes

Researchers in Japan have revealed the mechanism that determines the direction of the transportation of eggs in the fallopian tube.

21 Nov 2014

Single mutation in beta-catenin gene can lead to infertility

Scientists from the RIKEN BioResource Center in Tsukuba, Japan, have discovered that a single mutation in the beta-catenin gene, which codes a protein known to be deeply involved in a number of developmental and homeostatic processes, can lead to infertility not through a disruption of the production of egg or sperm cells, but rather by leading to abnormalities in the morphology of the sexual organs, making natural reproduction impossible.

7 Nov 2014

Two major studies newly implicate dozens of genes in autism

Two major genetic studies of autism, led in part by UC San Francisco scientists and involving more than 50 laboratories worldwide, have newly implicated dozens of genes in the disorder. The research shows that rare mutations in these genes affect communication networks in the brain and compromise fundamental biological mechanisms that govern whether, when, and how genes are activated overall.

31 Oct 2014

Genetic differences contribute to risk for autism

Small differences in as many as a thousand genes contribute to risk for autism, according to a study led by Mount Sinai researchers and the Autism Sequencing Consortium, and published today in the journal Nature.

29 Oct 2014

New research suggests that exposure to aluminium may reduce male fertility

And the team of scientists, at the universities of Lyon and Saint-Etienne in France and Keele in the UK, found that the higher the aluminium, the lower sperm count.

21 Oct 2014

Whole exome sequencing can assist in early diagnosis of various disorders

Approximately one-fourth of the 3,386 patients whose DNA was submitted for clinical whole exome testing received a diagnosis related to a known genetic disease, often ending a long search for answers for them and their parents, said researchers from the Baylor College of Medicine departments of molecular and human genetics and pediatrics and the Baylor Human Genome Sequencing Center and the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston.

20 Oct 2014

New study shows rapid evolution of cerebellum in humans, apes

A new study published in the Cell Press journal Current Biology on October 2 could rewrite the story of ape and human brain evolution. While the neocortex of the brain has been called "the crowning achievement of evolution and the biological substrate of human mental prowess," newly reported evolutionary rate comparisons show that the cerebellum expanded up to six times faster than anticipated throughout the evolution of apes, including humans.

3 Oct 2014

Reproductive cell division has mechanical safeguard against chromosome sorting errors

Reproductive cell division has evolved a simple, mechanical solution to avoid chromosome sorting errors, researchers report in the Sept. 11 Science Express.

17 Sep 2014

Endo International introduces topical testosterone gel, FORTESTA Gel

Endo International plc announced today that it has introduced the first and only generic 2% topical testosterone gel, an authorized generic of FORTESTA® Gel (testosterone gel) CIII.

8 Sep 2014

Facial masculinity negatively associated with semen quality

Contrary to what one might expect, facial masculinity was negatively associated with semen quality in a recent Journal of Evolutionary Biology study.

3 Sep 2014

Deep sequencing technique opens up new possibilities for finding genetic causes for brain disorder

Not every cell in the body is the same genetically, and disease-causing mutations don't necessarily affect every cell—making these mutations easy to miss even with next-generation genomic sequencing.

21 Aug 2014

Longitude and NovaQuest acquire California Cryobank

California Cryobank, a global leader in reproductive tissue donor services and storage and stem cell banking, announced today that it has been acquired by equity investors Longitude Venture Partners II, L.P. and NovaQuest Pharma Opportunities Fund III, L.P..

20 Aug 2014

Researchers identify microRNAs that differentiate male and female fruit flies

Men and women differ in plenty of obvious ways, and scientists have long known that genetic differences buried deep within our DNA underlie these distinctions. In the past, most research has focused on understanding how the genes that encode proteins act as sex determinants.

19 Aug 2014

Synthetic protein could improve diagnosis and treatment of male infertility

Queen's University researcher Richard Oko and his co-investigators have come up with a promising method of treating male infertility using a synthetic version of the sperm-originated protein known as PAWP.

12 Aug 2014

Starvation can affect health of descendants of famished individuals

Evidence from human famines and animal studies suggests that starvation can affect the health of descendants of famished individuals. But how such an acquired trait might be transmitted from one generation to the next has not been clear.

18 Jul 2014

Research findings provide promising news for couples considering in-vitro fertilization

Using computer-automated, time‐lapse photography of embryos in the laboratory during in-vitro fertilization may improve embryo selection, potentially increasing the chances of pregnancy among women undergoing the procedure, according to new research from the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and five other fertility centers.

3 Jul 2014

Age of sperm donor does not affect outcome in terms of live birth

Despite emerging evidence of a decline in sperm quality with increasing age, an analysis of every first fertility treatment cycle performed in the UK using sperm donation shows that outcome in terms of live birth is not affected by the age of the sperm donor.

30 Jun 2014

New discovery reveals relationship between certain proteins and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy

New structures discovered within cilia show a relationship between certain proteins and juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. The discovery, made at the University of Minnesota, was named paper of the week in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, and sheds new light on the microstructure of cilia.

25 Jun 2014

Fragile Y hypothesis explains the factors behind chromosome loss

A UT Arlington research team says their study of genetic information from more than 4,000 beetle species has yielded a new theory about why some species lose their Y chromosome and others, such as humans, hang on to it.

18 Jun 2014

Scientists advise caution with regard to artificial insemination method

Mitochondria are cell organelles located within animal and human cells. They produce energy for the organism, possess their own genetic material - mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) - and are transmitted exclusively by the mother. Depending on their activity and tasks, different numbers of mitochondria are present in a cell - usually a few hundred to a thousand per body cell.

18 Jun 2014