Sperm News and Research

RSS

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.

New book on reproductive treatments

In Vitro Fertilization [IVF] and the related technologies of assisted reproduction are no longer experimental procedures. In some European countries as many as 4% of all babies born are conceived by IVF, and in every kindergarten classroom there will no doubt be at least one IVF child. Assisted reproduction is the solution to today's epidemic of infertility.

17 Mar 2012

Neuropeptide F in the fly's brain governs behavior linked with addiction

Sexually deprived male fruit flies exhibit a pattern of behavior that seems ripped from the pages of a sad-sack Raymond Carver story: when female fruit flies reject their sexual advances, the males are driven to excessive alcohol consumption, drinking far more than comparable, sexually satisfied male flies.

16 Mar 2012

New survey shows women trying to get pregnant worry about fertility

For many women, the decision to get pregnant can take on a life of its own. In fact, according to a survey conducted for SpermCheck- Fertility, 42% of those who conceived say they became obsessed with getting pregnant once they started trying. Yet just 10% say their partner shared this obsession.

12 Mar 2012

Contraception, abortion issues crop up in state legislatures, political races

The debate over the birth control mandate is seeping into West Virginia's governor race as reproductive-rights supporters assess their place amid losses in state legislatures.

9 Mar 2012

Sperm only react to changes in calcium concentration

Sperm have only one aim: to find the egg. The egg supports the sperm in their quest by emitting attractants. Calcium ions determine the beating pattern of the sperm tail which enables the sperm to move. Together with colleagues from the Max Planck Institute for the Physics of Complex Systems in Dresden and the University of G-ttingen, scientists from the caesar research centre in Bonn, an institute of the Max Planck Society, have discovered that sperm only react to changes in calcium concentration but not to the calcium concentration itself.

8 Mar 2012

Cdk1 molecule plays an important role in mammalian egg maturation

Women who have eggs that cannot mature will not become pregnant, and they cannot be helped by in vitro fertilization (IVF). Now researchers at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden, have identified a molecule called Cdk1 that has an important function for mammalian egg maturation. In the future this could lead to an increased rate of successful IVF.

6 Mar 2012

Survivors of cancer in childhood have higher risk of infertility in later life

Survivors of cancer in childhood have a higher risk of infertility in later life. This is the conclusion reached by Magdalena Balcerek and her co-authors in a study published in Deutsches -rzteblatt International.

3 Mar 2012

Negative effects of environmental toxicants can pass across generations

A Washington State University researcher has demonstrated that a variety of environmental toxicants can have negative effects on not just an exposed animal but the next three generations of its offspring.

3 Mar 2012

REST molecule acts as an adapter in stem cells, times neuronal development

Upon fertilisation, a single cell is formed when egg and sperm fuse. Our entire body, with more than 200 specialised cell types and billions of cells are formed from this single cell. It is a scientific mystery how the early stem cells know what cell type to become, but a precise timing of the process is crucial for correct development and function of our body.

3 Mar 2012

Alternative subunits generate different functional subtypes of RNA polymerases

Indiana University biologists have found that specific types of RNA polymerase enzymes, the molecular machines that convert DNA into RNA, can differ in function based on variation in the parts -- in this case protein subunits -- used to assemble those machines.

2 Mar 2012

Study examines mRNA transcripts in the sperm of fruitflies and humans

It had long been assumed that the human sperm cell's mission in life ended once it had transferred its freight of parental DNA to the egg. More recently however, other components of sperm have been implicated in fertilization, and perhaps even in subsequent embryonic development.

1 Mar 2012

Scientists discover that sperm do not function like olfactory cells

According to a 2003 study by German and American scientists, a component of the Lily of the Valley scent known as Bourgeonal alters the calcium balance of human sperm and attracts the sperm. The "Lily of the Valley phenomenon" - also the title of a book about smelling - was born as a result of this discovery that sperm act as swimming olfactory cells which follow a "scent trail" laid by the egg. However, a detailed explanation for the Lily of the Valley phenomenon remained illusive as neither Bourgeonal nor other scents could be identified in the female sex organ.

29 Feb 2012

LA BioMed to honor Women & Infants physician as 'Legend'

The Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center (LA BioMed) recently announced that it will honor John E. Buster, MD, associate director of the Center for Reproduction and Infertility at Women & Infants Hospital of Rhode Island and Tufts Medical Center, as one of its three "Legends" this May.

28 Feb 2012

MGH scientists isolate OSCs from ovaries of reproductive age women

For the first time, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) researchers have isolated egg-producing stem cells from the ovaries of reproductive age women and shown these cells can produce what appear to be normal egg cells or oocytes.

27 Feb 2012

Catholic bishops call birth control compromise 'simply unworkable'

A wealthy backer of GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum apologizes for aspirin-as-birth control "joke," a day after female lawmakers stage walkout from a GOP-led committee hearing after no women were allowed to testify for the contraception mandate.

18 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 17, 2012

Today's early morning highlights from the major news organizations include reports about the latest debate on the Obama administration's regulation to mandate free birth control for women.

17 Feb 2012

State roundup: Legislatures tackling abortion restrictions, Medicaid cuts/revamps, Rx drug abuse

A Republican supermajority has muscled two of the most restrictive anti-abortion bills in years through the Virginia House, including one that would all but outlaw the procedure in the state by declaring that the rights of persons apply from the moment sperm and egg unite. The bills passed over bitter yet futile objections from Democrats. And one GOP delegate caused the House to ripple when he said most abortions come as "matters of lifestyle convenience." ... The bills now go to the Senate

16 Feb 2012

Transgender man falls pregnant and becomes a natural mother

A transgender man in his 30’s was able to carry a child after taking female hormones to reverse the effects of his female-to-male sex change treatment. The man from the West Midlands, UK is in a long-term relationship. It is not clear whether his partner is male or female. Medical ethics experts have called for a full inquiry into the issues surrounding transgender births, saying the interests of the child should not be risked to “fulfill the rights of an adult”.

13 Feb 2012

Scientists search gene alterations in three-parent kids

Researchers from Australia want to find out if using the DNA of three parents will prevent children inheriting life-threatening diseases. They add that if the technique proves successful in preventing the transfer of mitochondrial DNA mutations from mothers to babies, then laws on the use of embryos will need to be changed to allow the procedure.

6 Feb 2012

Scientists uncover genes that govern male and female behaviors

Hormones shape our bodies, make us fertile, excite our most basic urges, and as scientists have known for years, they govern the behaviors that separate men from women. But how? Now a team of scientists at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) has uncovered many genes influenced by the male and female sex hormones testosterone and estrogen that, in turn, govern several specific types of male and female behaviors in mice.

3 Feb 2012