In a study of 43 men who had recovered from COVID-19, nearly 20% had azoospermia, or the total absence of sperm in semen. Source: https://www.livescience.com/covid-19-may-lower-sperm-counts.html
Tag: sperm
Devious sperm ‘poison’ their rivals, forcing them to swim in circles until they die
Mouse sperm carrying a genetic sequence called the t-haplotype will poison their competitors, then make an ‘antidote’ only for themselves, new research finds. Source: https://www.livescience.com/mouse-sperm-poison-t-haplotype.html
Some mouse sperm try to sabotage rivals in race to fertilise the egg
Mouse sperm carrying a certain genetic variant known as the t haplotype move faster and straighter than others – and it turns out they are trying to sabotaging their rivals Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2266842-some-mouse-sperm-try-to-sabotage-rivals-in-race-to-fertilise-the-egg/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
‘I Should Have Loved Biology’
James Somers, in a long essay: I should have loved biology but I found it to be a lifeless recitation of names: the Golgi apparatus and the Krebs cycle; mitosis, meiosis; DNA, RNA, mRNA, tRNA. In the textbooks, astonishing facts were presented without astonishment. Someone probably told me that every cell in my body has the same DNA. But no one…
Some male fish use their tails to fan rivals’ sperm away from eggs
To boost their chances of fertilising a nest-load of eggs, male dusky frillgoby fish use their tailfin to fan away the sperm deposited by rivals Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2257736-some-male-fish-use-their-tails-to-fan-rivals-sperm-away-from-eggs/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Some animals may use their penis bone to scoop out a rival’s sperm
A study of 82 bacula, the bones found in the penis of most male mammals, suggests that they may be used to displace sperm from another male already in a female’s reproductive tract Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2256974-some-animals-may-use-their-penis-bone-to-scoop-out-a-rivals-sperm/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
100 million-year-old sperm is the oldest ever found. And it’s giant.
Scientists have discovered the oldest known sperm, dating back 100 million years, crammed in the body of a tiny crustacean. Source: https://www.livescience.com/oldest-sperm-found.html
Prehistoric sperm found trapped inside amber
Scientists have identified 100 million-year-old sperm cells perfectly preserved within fossilized tree resin. The cells, which are several times the s… Source: https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/news/339564/prehistoric-sperm-found-trapped-inside-amber…
Oldest animal sperm found in 100-million-year-old female seed shrimp
Scientists have discovered the oldest animal sperm inside the reproductive tract of a 100-million-year-old female seed shrimp – and it’s nearly as long as the animal that produced it Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2254557-oldest-animal-sperm-found-in-100-million-year-old-female-seed-shrimp/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…
Gene Editing To Produce ‘Super Dad’ Livestock
Scientists have produced gene-edited animals they say could serve as “super dads” or “surrogate sires.” The BBC reports: The pigs, goats, cattle and mice make sperm carrying the genetic material of donor animals. The researchers used a hi-tech gene editing tool to knock out a male fertility gene in animal embryos. The animals were born sterile, but began producing sperm after…