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.

New male contraceptive

Men and women have long been promised a male version of the female contraceptive pill. But the first new male contraceptive to market may not be hormonal at all.

8 May 2006

Sperm-producing stem cells found in testicles could be extracted, grown in the lab, and frozen for future use

Men may cringe at the idea, but sperm-producing stem cells found in testicles could be extracted, grown in the lab, and frozen for future use.

2 May 2006

Brits warned against foreign IVF treatment

British couples considering going abroad for in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and other types of fertility treatment have been warned against the practice.

1 May 2006

A contraceptive pill for men!

According to a Sydney scientist a hormone-based contraceptive for men has the ability to reverse its effect just four months after stopping its use.

1 May 2006

Why males produce sperm and females produce eggs

An Australian research team has solved one of biology's most fundamental questions - why males produce sperm and females produce eggs. The finding is a breakthrough that could lead to improved infertility treatment, cancer therapy and pest management.

4 Apr 2006

Many men who have vasectomies do not return for follow up tests

A quarter of the men who had vasectomies at a U.S. clinic didn't return for any follow up tests to make sure that the procedure had worked, according to research published in the April issue of the British - based urology journal BJU International.

4 Apr 2006

Pigs help study of links between polycystic ovary syndrome, obesity, cardiovascular disease and diabetes

Despite the exaggerated, wrinkly snout and long, coarse, spiky hair reminiscent of the 1980s television space alien ALF, some very special swine are helping researchers at Purdue and Indiana universities understand human infertility, diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

4 Apr 2006

Sperm banking should be a routine part of treatment for teenage cancer patients

Teenage boys being treated for cancer should be encouraged to bank their sperm so they might enjoy a family life in the future, say researchers at the University of Manchester.

From The University of Manchester 1 Mar 2006

New tool helps predict pregnancy outcomes

Physicians must consider a number of variables when treating couples who cannot naturally conceive because of factors involving both the woman and man.

23 Feb 2006

Researchers capture the electrical activity of a single sperm cell

Researchers at Children's Hospital Boston and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute have, for the first time, captured the electrical activity of a single sperm cell. The technically difficult maneuver, reported in Nature, allows the first measurement of the currents that flow across the sperm's outer membrane.

14 Feb 2006

Researchers capture the electrical activity of a single sperm cell

14 Feb 2006

New understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization

A new paper in the February 15th issue of Genes & Development lends novel insight into the cellular changes that occur in sperm while they reside in the female reproductive tract - providing a new understanding of the molecular genetics of successful fertilization.

14 Feb 2006

Americans prefer to leave child's sex to chance

Most people would not choose the sex of their child if given the option, according to a new nationwide survey. The study is the first to examine the demand and preferences for sex selection among the U.S. general population.

14 Feb 2006

Hormone discovered in bird brains also plays major role in mammalian reproductive system

University of California, Berkeley, researchers have discovered a new actor in the mammalian reproductive system, a hormone that fills a role long suspected, but until now undetected.

7 Feb 2006

Chinese medicine shows promise as treatment for sperm genetic abnormalities

Bioscientists from the University of Kent have called for clinical trials to further investigate how traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) may have a positive effect on sperm genetic abnormalities, and thereby influence the success rate of male infertility treatment.

2 Feb 2006

Women with endometriosis undergoing IVF benefit from treatment with GnRH agonists

The live birth rate per woman was significantly higher in women with endometriosis who received gonadotrophin releasing hormone (GnRH) agonist for three to six months before commencing in vitro fertilisation (IVF), compared to control groups.

25 Jan 2006

Tissue-specific RNAi reveals that WT1 expression in nurse cells controls germ cell survival and spermatogenesis

Researchers at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center say they have jumped a significant hurdle in the use of RNA interference (RNAi), believed by many to be the ultimate tool to both decode the function of individual genes in the human genome and to treat disease.

16 Jan 2006

Keep on trying - when you do get pregnant the chances are it will be a boy!

A team of Dutch researchers at Maastricht University say that women who take longer to get pregnant are more likely to give birth to a boy.

19 Dec 2005

Bacterial DNA and IVF contamination risk on New Scientist

Some children conceived by a common method of IVF could be carrying chunks of bacterial DNA in their chromosomes, according to a study in mice. The researchers who conducted the work say that such accidental genetic modification would be very rare, but they argue that fertility doctors should take more precautions to exclude it.

30 Nov 2005

Sperm stem cells research provides exciting findings

New experiments that prevented rat sperm stem cells from changing permanently into sperm have brought researchers one step closer to coaxing such cells to behave like embryonic stem cells, capable of growing into many other types of cells in the body.

20 Nov 2005