Articles about 'sperm'

Jacob Dunn (Division of Biological Anthropology) discusses why sperm are the most diverse cells found among animals.

New research reveals that the sperm cells of adolescent boys have more than six times the rate of DNA mutations as the equivalent egg cells in adolescent girls, resulting in higher rates of DNA mutation being passed down to children of teenage fathers. The findings suggest that the risk of birth defects is higher in the children of teenage fathers as a consequence.

Latest research shows the females of some mammal species will have many mates to ensure unclear paternity, so that males can’t resort to killing their rival’s offspring for fear of killing their own. This forces males to evolve to compete through sperm quantity, leading to ever-larger testicles. Scientists find that as testis size increases, infanticide disappears.

Sperm will take centre stage at a conference in Cambridge later this week as researchers from a wide range of disciplines gather to consider the narratives that surround the male gametes necessary for human reproduction. 

Research may explain how sperm travel long distances, through difficult terrain, to reach an egg.

Research for a new book reveals a culturally sanctioned suppression of dialogue around male infertility – despite it being equally as common as female infertility – to the extent that many infertile men receiving treatment still don’t actually consider themselves infertile.

Sophie Zadeh, a PhD candidate in the Centre for Family Research, is contributing to a new study of the well-being of single mothers by sperm donation and their children. Her initial findings confound many of the assumptions about this group of women. 

Using high-speed microscopic imaging, Professor Raymond Goldstein's group in the Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics has demonstrated how the interactions of microbes such as sperm cells and algae with solid surfaces are considerably more complex than previously thought.

New research reveals what happens when swimming cells such as spermatozoa and algae hit a solid wall, and has implications for applications in diagnostics and biofuel production.