Sperm that females receive during mating are stored in special places in the females' reproductive tracts. These storage sites serve to support and retain the sperm, maintaining the sperms' motility and, in mammals, permitting final sperm-maturation. The molecules that attract sperm to these sites and mediate what happens to them there have remained elusive. New research, using elegant genetic ...

BACKGROUND Hepatitis B is a public health problem worldwide. Viral infection can affect a man's fertility, but only scant information about the influence of hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection on sperm quality is available. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of hepatitis B virus S protein (HBs) on human sperm membrane integrity and functions. METHODS/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS Reac...

side effects of ciprofloxacin (cpfx), a widely used broad spectrum antibiotic with fluoroquinolone core, have been reported in different organs. in the present study we sought to elucidate the impact of ciprofloxacin on sperm chromatin integrity and sperm dna damage using aniline blue and acridine orange technique, respectively. the fertility potential in male mice was also evaluated. nmri male...

The presence of white blood cells in semen has been associated with male infertility. Previous studies indicate that pyospermia occurs in conjunction with decreases in sperm motility, number of normal sperm forms, and penetration rates in the zona-free hamster egg sperm penetration assay. We have evaluated the relationship of seminal white blood cells and sperm function, as reflected in the zon...

Sperm morphological analysis (SMA) is an essential step in diagnosing male infertility. Using images of human sperm cells, this research proposes a unique sequential deep-learning method to detect abnormalities semen samples. The proposed technique identifies and examines several components sperm. In order conduct study, we used the online Modified Human Morphology Analysis (MHSMA) dataset cont...

Background: Iron oxide nanoparticles are commonly used for various purposes, such as biomedical, medical, and cosmetic services and research. However, there is a little information about the effects of the nanoparticles on human health. The current investigation was conducted to evaluate the adverse effects of iron oxide nanoparticles (FeNP) on the reproductive organs of mice, such as the testi...

Sperm competition is generally thought to drive the evolution of sperm miniaturization. Males gain advantage by transferring more sperm, which they produce by dividing limited resources into ever smaller cells. Here, we describe the opposite effect of size on the competitiveness of amoeboid sperm in the hermaphroditic nematode Caenorhabditis elegans. Larger sperm crawled faster and displaced sm...

Images taken in Diana Bratu's lab by Dr. Irina Catrina are featured in Cell's Journal Picture Show that was recently released, called Reproduction. The image titled "The Short End of a Long Stick" shows sperm cells from Drosophila. Flies in the Drosophila genus produce the longest sperm cells on Earth. One species, Drosophila bifurca, has sperm that is 58 mm (2.3 inches) long. Our good friend D...