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.

ESHRE's workshop on cryobiology

ESHRE invites you to attend its workshop on freezing of human sperm, eggs and embryos in Athens, Greece "Cryobiology and cryopreservation of human gametes and embryos". The workshop provides a forum for clinicians and scientists to share research results and discuss problems and new developments.

17 Sep 2009

ESHRE's first workshop on male infertility

ESHRE invites you to attend its first workshop on male infertility in Thessaloniki, Greece "Reproductive andrology: linking laboratory to clinical practice". The workshop provides a forum for clinicians and scientists to share research results and discuss new developments.

16 Sep 2009

ESHRE workshop on human reproduction, more specifically on the freezing of sperm and embryos

ESHRE invites you to attend its workshop on freezing of human sperm, eggs and embryos in Athens, Greece "Cryobiology and cryopreservation of human gametes and embryos".

16 Sep 2009

Defective gene is linked to male infertility

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have discovered a gene involved with the production of sperm that may contribute to male infertility and lead to new approaches to male contraception.

16 Sep 2009

Female insects control sperm storage to rule out genetic disorders

Scientists have found new evidence to explain how female insects can influence the father of their offspring, even after mating with up to ten males. A team from the University of Exeter has found that female crickets are able to control the amount of sperm that they store from each mate to select the best father for their young.

9 Sep 2009

Tel Aviv University biologist discusses about human fertility

About 10% of all couples hoping for a baby have fertility problems. Environmentalists say pollution is to blame and psychiatrists point to our stressful lifestyles, but evolutionary biologist Dr. Oren Hasson of Tel Aviv University's Department of Zoology offers a different take. The reproductive organs of men and women are currently involved in an evolutionary arms race, he reports in a new study. And the fight isn't over yet.

8 Sep 2009

Y chromosome may be responsible for a range of sex disorders

The unique mechanism behind the evolutionary survival of the human Y chromosome may also be responsible for a range of sex disorders, from failed sperm production to sex reversal to Turner Syndrome.

3 Sep 2009

CRi's Oosight imaging system used for developing a gene transfer technique to prevent inherited diseases

U.S. researchers using CRi's Oosight(TM) imaging system have developed a gene transfer technique that has potential to prevent inherited diseases passed on from mothers to their children through mutated DNA in cell mitochondria.

28 Aug 2009

New discovery on cellular fusion

Success in soccer sometimes comes with "bending it like Beckham." Success in cellular fusion - as occurs at the moment of conception and when nerve cells exchange neurotransmitters - requires that a membrane be bent before the merging process can begin, University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers have shown.

20 Aug 2009

New kind of “molecular condom” to protect women from AIDS

University of Utah scientists developed a new kind of “molecular condom” to protect women from AIDS in Africa and other impoverished areas. Before sex, women would insert a vaginal gel that turns semisolid in the presence of semen, trapping AIDS virus particles in a microscopic mesh so they can’t infect vaginal cells.

10 Aug 2009

Scientists create stem cells from developing sperm

The promise of stem cell therapy may lie in uncovering how adult cells revert back into a primordial, stem cell state, whose fate is yet to be determined. Now, cell scientists at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have identified key molecular players responsible for this reversion in fruit fly sperm cells.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of mechanism that protects somatic cells against the behaviour of germ cells

An IRB Barcelona research team discovers the mechanism that favors the correct separation of germ cells -- future ovules and sperm -- from the rest of the cells during embryonic development

3 Aug 2009

Discovery of unique 'DNA signature' in human sperm - unlocks egg's fertility

Drs David Miller and David Iles from the University of Leeds, in collaboration with Dr Martin Brinkworth at the University of Bradford, have found that sperm writes a DNA signature that can only be recognised by an egg from the same species. This enables fertilisation and may even explain how a species develops its own unique genetic identity.

3 Aug 2009

Spermatagonial stem cells can be directly converted into other cell types

Researchers have found a way to directly convert spermatogonial stem cells, the precursors of sperm cells, into tissues of the prostate, skin and uterus. Their approach, described this month in the journal Stem Cells, may prove to be an effective alternative to the medical use of embryonic stem cells.

28 Jul 2009

Research adds to growing understanding of the metabolic consequences of assisted reproductive techniques

Research to be presented at the Annual Meeting of the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior (SSIB), the foremost society for research into all aspects of eating and drinking behavior, finds that assisted reproductive techniques alter the expression of genes that are important for metabolism and the transport of nutrients in the placenta of mice.

27 Jul 2009

University at Buffalo start-up provides innovative digital sperm analysis to infertile couples worldwide

Couples struggling with fertility problems have a new option for assessing their ability to have a child with the start-up of a new Buffalo-based company called LifeCell Dx, Inc. (LCDX).

27 Jul 2009

Researchers grow immature egg cells in the laboratory for 30 days - could sustain cancer patients’ fertility

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health have completed a critical first step in the eventual development of a technique to retain fertility in women with cancer who require treatments that might otherwise make them unable to have children.

14 Jul 2009

Embryonic stem cells used to create human sperm

Human sperm have been created using embryonic stem cells for the first time in a scientific development which will lead researchers to a better understanding of the causes of infertility.

9 Jul 2009

Optimum "sperm load"

Attractive males release fewer sperm per mating to maximise their chances of producing offspring across a range of females, according to a new paper on the evolution of ejaculation strategies. The findings by researchers at UCL (University College London) and the University of Oxford suggest that, paradoxically, matings with attractive males may be less fertile than those with unattractive ones.

9 Jul 2009