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.

Insights into the role of the germline in de novo mutation

The male reproductive system is a hotspot for the introduction of new genes. Perhaps that might assist in understanding why fathers tend to pass on more new mutations than mothers do. However, it does not explain why older fathers pass on more mutations than younger fathers.

16 Jan 2023

FSU study shows the transgenerational transmission of aspartame-induced anxiety in mice

Florida State University College of Medicine researchers have linked aspartame, an artificial sweetener found in nearly 5,000 diet foods and drinks, to anxiety-like behavior in mice.

9 Dec 2022

Investigating the direct effect of mutation on sperm behavior

A team of researchers discovered that the activity of sperm cells is attributable in part to the individual DNA make-up of these cells, rather than just male genetics.

From New York University (NYU) 16 Nov 2022

First-ever pedigree provides insights for maximizing genetic diversity in aquarium-bred corals

Corals bred in public aquaria provide novel research opportunities and a healthy stock for outplanting into the wild, essential components of a thriving future for coral reef ecosystems, which support around 25% of all life in Earth's oceans.

15 Nov 2022

Researchers uncover a mechanism of flowering plant sperm compaction

Sperm cells have compact bundles of DNA, yet exactly how and why sperm cell nuclei are condensed in flowering plants has been a mystery, until now.

4 Nov 2022

Meiotic drive systems can be maintained for long evolutionary timespans

Meiotic drivers, which are a sort of selfish gene, are, in fact, selfish. They are found in nearly all species’ genomes, including humans, and unfairly convey their genetic information to more than half of their offspring, resulting in infertility and impaired organism health.

21 Oct 2022

All normal human tissues express remnants of widespread retrovirus

Ancient viral remnants in the human genome are active in both healthy and diseased tissues, restricting their applicability as disease indicators, according to a study published on October 18th, 2022, in the open access journal PLOS Biology by Aidan Burn at Tufts University in Boston, USA and colleagues.

20 Oct 2022

Distinct roles of aging and genetics on expression phenotypes

Research conducted by the University of California, Berkeley, found that individual distinctions in human DNA matter less as people age and become more susceptible to aging disorders like diabetes and cancer.

10 Oct 2022

The biological advantages of sperm swimming in groups

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.

22 Sep 2022

Spaceflight increases the risk of developing cancer and heart disease

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.

2 Sep 2022

Scientists demonstrate a potential new route for the generation of genetic diversity in corals

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.

From Penn State University 1 Sep 2022

Research provides better understanding of the Prussian carp's peculiar, efficient reproductive strategy

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.

20 Jul 2022

Rochester biologists show a selfish “supergene” using population genomics

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.

8 Jul 2022

Fast-breeding sea urchin species may be a game changer in genetic research

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.

30 May 2022

Researchers develop primitive endoderm stem cells in mice

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.

23 May 2022

Extra copies of DNA explain insensitivity to chemotherapy in germ cell cancer

Extra copies of a piece of DNA partly explain insensitivity to chemotherapy in germ cell cancer, a new study shows.

21 Apr 2022

Primordial germ cell-like cells produced from stem cells undergo gametogenesis to yield normal offspring

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.

8 Apr 2022

Using a microfluidic chip for selection of healthy sperm based on positive rheotaxis

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.

1 Apr 2022

Study explores that extra dosages of genes may lead to surplus X chromosomes

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.

1 Apr 2022