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.

University of Michigan scientists uncover how cells block mutation-causing activity of junk DNA

There's a civil war going on inside every one of the 37 trillion cells in your body. Now, University of Michigan scientists have uncovered how your cells keep this war from causing too much collateral damage.

26 Apr 2014

Vivere-Winter Park recognizes 25th Annual National Infertility Awareness Week

Infertility is a disease affecting more than 7 million people across the U.S., according to the National Survey of Family Growth. That number represents 12 percent of women of childbearing age or one in eight couples.

22 Apr 2014

Study sheds light on tiny environments that stem cells occupy in animal bodies

Johns Hopkins researchers have discovered an unexpected phenomenon in the organs that produce sperm in fruit flies: When a certain kind of stem cell is killed off experimentally, another group of non-stem cells can come out of retirement to replace them.

21 Apr 2014

Findings offer new paths towards improved fertility treatments and development of new contraceptives

Researchers at the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute have discovered interacting proteins on the surface of the sperm and the egg essential to begin mammalian life. These proteins, which allow the sperm and egg to recognize one another, offer new paths towards improved fertility treatments and the development of new contraceptives.

17 Apr 2014

Human testes respond differently to endocrine disrupting chemicals

Human and rat testes respond differently to endocrine disrupting chemicals such as BPA in two thirds of all cases, according to a recent review. As human safety levels are extrapolated from rodent data, the study could lead to a re-evaluation of the acceptable daily intake for many endocrine disruptors.

10 Apr 2014

New drug for treating Rett syndrome is on the horizon

A powerful new drug which could relieve the symptoms of devastating childhood disease Rett syndrome is on the horizon thanks to a funding injection of -180,000.

10 Apr 2014

Nearly 4 million infants die from vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide each year

Nearly 4 million children under 5 die from vaccine-preventable diseases worldwide each year, and two University of Michigan doctoral ecology students are working to change that.

2 Apr 2014

Scientists move a step closer to preserving fertility in young boys with cancer

Scientists have moved a step closer to being able to preserve fertility in young boys who undergo chemotherapy and radiation treatments for cancer. The new research, published in Fertility and Sterility, the journal of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine, addresses the safety of an option scientists are developing for boys who aren't sexually mature and cannot bank sperm.

28 Mar 2014

UMass Medical School students win 2014 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award

Colin Conine and Emma Watson, PhD students in the Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences (GSBS) at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, received the 2014 Harold M. Weintraub Graduate Student Award for research into the mechanisms governing epigenetic inheritance and the complex interactions between diet, gene expression and physiology.

26 Mar 2014

Study shows how transcription factor p73 promotes process of producing fertile sperm

The process of producing high-quality, fertile sperm requires many steps. A study in The Journal of Cell Biology shows how the transcription factor p73 promotes this process by regulating the adhesions between developing sperm and their support cells.

25 Mar 2014

Antares Pharma announces launch of OTREXUP to Dermatologists

Antares Pharma, Inc. today announced LEO Pharma's launch of OTREXUP to Dermatologists, the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved subcutaneous (SC) methotrexate (MTX) product for once weekly self-administration with an easy-to-use, single dose, disposable auto injector.

10 Mar 2014

New study shows male hormones play important role; may enhance IVF therapy in women

Several fertility clinics across the country are beginning to administer testosterone, either through a patch or a gel on the skin, to increase the number of eggs produced by certain women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

5 Mar 2014

Research could lead to early diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer

Prostate cancer patients could get better diagnosis and treatment for the disease in the future thanks to a successful research project at the University of Essex.

25 Feb 2014

Microbes are more likely to adhere to tube walls in flowing water

In a surprising new finding, researchers have discovered that bacterial movement is impeded in flowing water, enhancing the likelihood that the microbes will attach to surfaces.

25 Feb 2014

Phasefocus’ KTP associate Dr Suman receives runners up spot for Cellular Heaven and Hell time-lapse video

Phase Focus Ltd (Phasefocus), the company that is revolutionizing microscopy and imaging with the Phasefocus Virtual Lens® technology, reports on the Celldance competition results held at the recent annual ASCB meeting. KTP associate, Dr Rakesh Suman, was runner up with his video entitled "Cellular Heaven & Hell."

From Phase Focus Limited 18 Feb 2014

New video tracking system could help select most viable sperm

To improve their chances of success, in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics need to assess the viability of the sperm they use. Now doctors may soon have a new technique to help them sort the good sperm cells from the less viable ones: a tracking system, developed by a team of researchers from four European institutions, that takes 3-D movies of living sperm.

12 Feb 2014

Researchers to highlight biomedical breakthroughs, new discoveries at Biophysical Society Meeting

Ask a question about how the human immune system fights a tropical disease, or how viruses like HIV use genetic tricks to resist drugs, or how plant cells capture light, or how Alzheimer's takes hold in the brain, or how we can better fight diseases like cancer, or why some sperm cells are fertile while others are not, and you may have to narrow your gaze to the nanoscale to find answers.

10 Feb 2014

GenePeeks receives patent for developing innovative algorithms to create hypothetical "digital babies"

GenePeeks, Inc., a genetic technology company focused on pre-conception risk prediction, announced today it has been issued patent No. 8,620,594, titled "Method and System for Generating a Virtual Progeny Genome," by the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

28 Jan 2014

New method allows for large-scale generation of human embryonic stem cells

A new method allows for large-scale generation of human embryonic stem cells of high clinical quality. It also allows for production of such cells without destroying any human embryos.

27 Jan 2014

UCSF study finds widespread exposure to banned endocrine disrupters

Americans are being exposed to significantly lower levels of some phthalates that were banned from children's articles in 2008, but exposures to other forms of these chemicals are rising steeply, according to a study led by researchers at UC San Francisco.

17 Jan 2014