Basics of sperm locomotion

Most of us probably learned in high school biology class about human reproduction. The female produces the egg, the male produces the sperm. The sperm fertilizes the egg. You have probably saw pictures or diagrams of the sperm, they look similar to tadpoles with a head and a whip like tail called a flagellum. The flagellum whips back and forth and propels the sperm cell until, if it’s lucky, it finds the egg and fertilizes it. But what is it that makes the tail, or flagellum, of the sperm cell whip back and forth like that?

Full steam a-head

Researchers at several colleges have developed a formula based on the movement of the head and tail of a sperm cell to explain how a sperm makes its way to the egg. They discovered that along with the whip like motion of the tail, the head of the sperm also moves side to side (as if to knock others out of its way perhaps?) as it makes its way to the egg. This movement is thought to break the tension in the fluid, allowing it to be propelled in a sophisticated system.

Counterintuitive approach

Demonstrations in the research, after entering the numerical equations in the computer simulations, show that it’s not a straight smooth swim to the egg. The sperm make jerky, but coordinated movements to achieve propulsion and a fluid flow pattern. This counters the friction that impedes a large number of swimmers. The head of the study, Dr. Gadelha, relates this to the human body’s internal system of making sure only the right cells make it to come together in fertilization of the egg. He agrees it’s a mathematical miracle that a sperm ever actually reaches an egg with the body’s defenses and challenges for the little sperm.

Using the research to heighten fertility and IVF success stories

The researchers are going to use this new information to determine how large numbers of sperm interact with one another in hopes of finding new information with which to treat male infertility. This would help break the puzzle of how and which sperm are determined to complete the journey in fertilizing the egg. IVF medications now help with hormone levels in men and women to even the field, but with further research the numbers of success stories with IVF meds and assisted reproduction methods could be higher.

With 15% of men with low sperm quality that include 30% just being weak swimmers, knowing how to strengthen and improve the journey to successful fertilization will go a long way to improving the odds of success. Especially as no known exposure, chemical, or lifestyle factor can be attributed to the weakening of some men’s sperm and their swimming ability when compared to others.

IVF medicines do improve fertility chances, especially when the medication can be economically purchased online and the quality is from the premium suppliers such as with the fertility meds bought from IVFPrescriptions.