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.

Reawakened Endogenous Retroviruses can Play a Critical Role in Helping Cancer Survive

Peek inside the human genome and, among the 20,000 or so genes that serve as building blocks of life, you'll also find flecks of DNA left behind by viruses that infected primate ancestors tens of millions of years ago.

18 Jul 2024

Study Reveals Epigenetic Changes in Sperm from Non-Genetic Infertility Causes

How non-genetic factors can induce epigenetic modifications to the sperm and cause male infertility.

3 Jul 2024

Primitive Endoderm Stem Cells Offer New Hope for Fertility Treatments

An unexpectedly versatile and regenerative stem cell in early embryos may be key to creating new effective fertility treatments, suggests a new study in mice from the University of Copenhagen.

25 Jun 2024

First Evidence of Oocyte Cohesion Rejuvenation Discovered in Fruit Flies

A Dartmouth study conducted on fruit flies reports the first evidence in any organism that oocytes-;the cells that become eggs-;regularly rejuvenate the critical protein linkages that bind chromosomes together.

13 Jun 2024

Germ Cells Found to Drive Sex-Dependent Lifespan Differences in Vertebrates

Women live longer than men. This isn't unique to humans, either; we see this trend in a wide range of other animals. Biologists have theorized that the discrepancy in life expectancy between sexes might be partly related to reproduction, but how?

13 Jun 2024

Study Finds Essential Role of Orco Protein in Ant Olfactory Neuron Survival and Social Interaction

While smell plays a considerable role in the social interactions of humans-;for instance, signaling fear or generating closeness-;for ants, it is vitally important.

10 Jun 2024

Unlocking the Secrets of Selective Pollen Attraction in Flowers

A team of scientists from Nagoya University in Japan employed a sophisticated microscopic technology to study the internal reproductive mechanism of the Arabidopsis plant.

22 May 2024

Sex-Specific Effects of Germline Regulation on Longevity and Repair in Vertebrates

The study revealed unexpected and sex-specific effects of germline regulation on longevity and somatic repair in vertebrates.

17 May 2024

Unveiling the Evolutionary Origins of Bilaterian Species

700 million years ago, a remarkable creature emerged for the first time. Though it may not have been much to look at by today's standards, the animal had a front and a back, a top and a bottom.

16 Apr 2024

New Virus Offers Hope for Amphibians Ravaged by Fungus

A fungus devastating frogs and toads on nearly every continent may have an Achilles heel. Scientists have discovered a virus that infects the fungus, and that could be engineered to save the amphibians.

4 Apr 2024

New Research Rewrites Bird Family History

An immense meteor spelled doom for most dinosaurs 65 million years ago. However, not all perished. In the aftermath of the extinction event, birds—technically dinosaurs themselves—prospered.

2 Apr 2024

How Does the Egg Coat Prevent Multiple Fertilization

The surrounding egg coat tightens once a sperm fertilizes an egg, mechanically blocking further sperm from entering and causing the embryo to die.

15 Mar 2024

SYCE2 Gene Variant Disrupts Alignment of Chromosomes, Potentially Leading to Pregnancy Loss

Scientists at deCODE genetics, a subsidiary of Amgen and their collaborators from Iceland, Denmark and USA published a study today in Nature Structural and Molecular Biology titled "Variant in the synaptonemal complex protein SYCE2 associates with pregnancy loss through effects on recombination".

30 Jan 2024

Scientists Harness Cellular Scaffolding for New Bio-Inspired Technologies

Princeton researchers have learned to harness the gossamer scaffolding that maintains the structure of living cells and used it to develop a nanotechnology platform.

27 Jan 2024

Genomic Insights Into the Evolution of Gigantism in Cetaceans

Certain gene regions in cetaceans (whales, porpoises, and dolphins) play a role in explaining the remarkable size differences among species, such as the Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus), which can reach lengths of up to 30 m – almost 10 m longer than a bus – in contrast to the Bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus), which typically reaches a maximum length of 4 m.

23 Jan 2024

No Consistent Evidence for Sperm Quality Decreasing With Age

Scientists have shown that while male fertility and sperm fitness decrease with age in humans, this tendency does not hold true for other animals. The journal Nature Communications has published the findings.

18 Jan 2024

Zipping Up Chromosomes: The Synaptonemal Complex Revealed

We have two copies of each chromosome in every cell in our bodies except in our reproductive cells. Sperm and egg cells contain a single copy of each chromosome with a unique mix of genes from our parents, an evolutionary trick to give our offspring genetic variability.

4 Jan 2024

Unveiling the Extraordinary Bilateral Gynandromorph Bird

A University of Otago zoologist, Sesquicentennial Distinguished Professor Hamish Spencer, came across an exceptionally uncommon bird during his holiday in Colombia.

12 Dec 2023

Understanding the Dynamic Regulation of Manchette Microtubules in Sperm Development

A team of researchers, led by Wenxiang Meng from the Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, has demonstrated that the deletion of the calmodulin-regulated spectrin-associated protein 1 (CAMSAP1) gene in mice, which is associated with the minus ends of non-centrosomal microtubules, results in a condition known as oligoasthenoteratozoospermia.

6 Nov 2023

Unveiling the Intricacies of Sperm Transformation

Scientists from Stockholm University have revealed the concealed complexities behind the transition of sperm from inert observers to active swimmers.

26 Oct 2023