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.
Sperm actually swim better together when they are swimming against the current. Contrary to common belief, spermatozoa frequently cooperate to go through the female reproductive system in a variety of mammalian species, contradicting the notion that the fastest and fittest male reproductive cell wins the fertilization race.
A groundbreaking study from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai found that astronauts are more likely to experience mutations that could be connected to spaceflight and increase their lifetime risk of acquiring cancer and heart disease.
In a discovery that challenges over a century of evolutionary conventional wisdom, corals have been shown to pass somatic mutations – changes to the DNA sequence that occur in non-reproductive cells – to their offspring.
The Prussian carp is considered one of the most successful invasive fish species in Europe. Its ability to reproduce asexually gives it a major advantage over competing fish.
There are several “selfish genetic elements” in the human genome that do not appear to benefit their hosts but instead appear to exist only to reproduce themselves.
Many people may not realize that the humble sea urchin is a titan when it comes to the study of biology. Now, researchers from Japan have discovered that sea urchins could help biological studies go further than ever before.
RIKEN scientists have extracted and grown stem cells that give way to the mouse yolk sac for the first time in the laboratory, boosting the potential of generating mouse embryos from stem cells in the coming years.
Extra copies of a piece of DNA partly explain insensitivity to chemotherapy in germ cell cancer, a new study shows.
Primordial germ cell-like cells (PGCLCs), generated in vitro from the stem cells of rats, undergo gametogenesis in vivo and yield normal rat offspring, a new study demonstrates.
The female genital tract can be a hostile environment for conception. Out of about 100 million sperm, only a few hundred make it to the fallopian tubes.
One out of every 500 to 1,000 boys is born with one or more extra X chromosomes, which can cause a variety of symptoms as the extra chromosomes to including infertility, larger breasts, osteoporosis, diabetes, cardiac problems, intellectual incapacity, and cancer.
According to recent research on fruit flies, the sperm becomes half feminine after mating, which was previously thought to be purely male.
A team of researchers compared lipid profiles of sperm to learn more about their vulnerability to harmful oxidation and antioxidant capacity in different species’ semen.
Abrupt shifts in the evolution of animals – short periods of time when an organism rapidly changes size or form – have long been a challenge for theorists including Darwin.
It cakes our cars in yellow powder every spring and taunts allergy sufferers for months on end, but pollen is more than just plant sperm.
Human primordial germ cells (PGCs) are the early precursors of the eggs (oocytes) and sperm that are necessary to keep humankind alive and reproducing.
Sexual reproduction allows organisms to mix up their genes and develop new adaptations to survive a harsh and ever-changing environment.
We speak to Professor Charles Easley about his latest research into male infertility, and how sperm cells could be potentially developed from primate stem cells.
Researchers from the Francis Crick Institute along with the University of Kent utilized gene-editing technology to produce male-only and female-only mice litter with 100% efficacy.
An intense but short-term exposure to cannabis vapor lowered sperm counts and slowed sperm movement, or motility, not only in the directly exposed male mice but also in their sons.