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Related Concept Videos

Sperm Transport01:15

Sperm Transport

The journey of sperm from its origin to the point of ejaculation begins within the seminiferous tubules of the testis. Here, Sertoli cells produce fluid that propels non-motile sperm through a series of conduits, starting with the straight tubules leading to the rete testis. This interconnected network of tubules acts as the initial pathway for sperm, guiding them into the efferent ductules and then into the epididymis for maturation.
The maturation phase occurs in the epididymis, where sperm...
Chirality in Nature02:30

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Chirality is the most intriguing yet essential facet of nature, governing life’s biochemical processes and precision. It can be observed from a snail shell pattern in a macroscopic world to an amino acid, the minutest building block of life. Most of the snails around the world have right-coiled shells because of the intrinsic chirality in their genes. All the amino acids present in the human body exist in an enantiomerically pure state, except for glycine - the sole achiral amino acid. The...
Sperm Structure and Semen Composition01:22

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During ejaculation, males release around 2-5 milliliters of semen, which is a complex mixture of mature sperm and various fluids produced by accessory glands. The mature sperm cells measure approximately 60 micrometers in length and consist of a head, neck, midpiece, and tail. The head is flattened and tapered, measuring about 4 to 5 micrometers in length. It contains a nucleus with condensed chromosomes and an acrosome, a cap-like structure filled with enzymes essential for penetrating the...
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Learning to draw Fischer projections of molecules and understanding their relevance plays a crucial role in the visual depiction of organic molecules. A Fischer projection is a two-dimensional projection on a planar surface to simplify the three-dimensional wedge–dash representation of molecules. This is especially helpful in the case of molecules with multiple chiral centers that can be difficult to draw. Here, all the bonds of interest are represented as horizontal or vertical lines. While...

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Two Types of Assays for Detecting Frog Sperm Chemoattraction
10:02

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Published on: December 27, 2011

Sperm trajectories form chiral ribbons.

Ting-Wei Su1, Inkyum Choi, Jiawen Feng

  • 1Electrical Engineering Department, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.

Scientific Reports
|April 17, 2013
PubMed
Summary

Researchers discovered a new 3D sperm swimming pattern called chiral ribbons in human and horse sperm. This unique motion, observed via advanced imaging, offers new insights into micro-swimmer biophysics.

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Two Types of Assays for Detecting Frog Sperm Chemoattraction
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U-Shaped Horizontal Swimming Technique for Preparing High-Quality Sperm with Low DNA Fragmentation Index

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Area of Science:

  • Biophysics
  • Cell Biology
  • Microfluidics

Background:

  • Sperm motility is crucial for reproduction and has been studied extensively.
  • Existing models describe sperm swimming patterns as relatively simple, often planar or helical.
  • Understanding micro-swimmer dynamics is key to fields like reproductive medicine and nanotechnology.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify and characterize novel three-dimensional (3D) swimming patterns in human and horse sperm.
  • To investigate the biophysical properties and prevalence of these newly discovered motion patterns.
  • To compare the occurrence of these patterns between human and equine sperm.

Main Methods:

  • Utilized holographic on-chip imaging technology to capture high-resolution sperm trajectories.
  • Analyzed over 33,700 sperm tracks at frame rates exceeding 90-140 frames per second.
  • Applied advanced computational analysis to identify and classify unique 3D swimming dynamics.

Main Results:

  • Discovered a novel 3D swimming pattern termed 'chiral ribbons' in both human and horse sperm.
  • Observed that chiral ribbons involve planar swings of the sperm head on an osculating plane, forming helical or twisted ribbon trajectories.
  • Found that approximately 1.7% of human sperm and 27.3% of horse sperm exhibit these chiral ribbon patterns.
  • Identified that the twisted ribbon trajectory corresponds to a minimal surface with zero mean curvature.

Conclusions:

  • The 'chiral ribbon' is a previously unrecognized mode of micro-swimming, distinct from known patterns.
  • The discovery provides new data on the complexity and diversity of sperm motility.
  • These findings may advance the understanding of micro-swimmer statistics and biophysics, with potential implications for reproductive science.