Hope for infertile men: Mice could hold the secret

Male infertility affects more than 20 million men globally and is a contributing cause to around 50% of infertility in couples. Frequently, male infertility is the result of defects in the sperm tail, the flagellum, which ...

Keeping sperm cells on track

An essential component of every eukaryotic cell is the cytoskeleton. Microtubules, tiny tubes consisting of a protein called tubulin, are part of this skeleton of cells. Cilia and flagella, which are antenna-like structures ...

Single molecule puts sperm on track

Sperm start their sprint to the ovum when they detect changes in the environment through a series of calcium channels arranged like racing stripes on their tails. A team of Yale researchers has identified a key molecule that ...

Turning off HSF5 gene leads to less and poorer quality sperm

In research on zebrafish, Örebro researchers have identified a gene that is essential for producing sperm. Results show that fewer and poorer quality sperm are produced when the gene was turned off with the Crispr/Cas9 technique. ...

Key protein in sperm tail assembly identified

A study published in the Journal of Cell Biology focuses on the development of the sperm tail, the structure that enables sperm cells to swim and is therefore critical for male fertility.

The mechanical properties of sperm tails revealed

Scientists at the University of York have shown that a sperm tail utilizes interconnected elastic springs to transmit mechanical information to distant parts of the tail, helping it to bend and ultimately swim toward an egg.

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