Obstetrics & gynaecology

Fertility treatments could get a boost from stem cells

An unexpectedly versatile and regenerative stem cell in early embryos may be key to creating new effective fertility treatments, suggests a new study in mice from the University of Copenhagen.

Diseases, Conditions, Syndromes

Study suggests hepatitis E may be a sexually transmitted infection

Researchers have discovered that the hepatitis E virus is associated with sperm in pigs, which suggests the virus may be both sexually transmitted and linked to male infertility, according to a new study published in PLOS ...

Spermatozoon

A sperm, from the ancient Greek word σπέρμα (seed) and ζῷον (living being) and more commonly known as a sperm cell, is the haploid cell that is the male gamete. It joins an ovum to form a zygote. A zygote is a single cell, with a complete set of chromosomes, that normally develops into an embryo.

Sperm cells contribute half of the genetic information to the diploid offspring. In mammals, the sex of the offspring is determined by the sperm cell: a spermatozoon bearing a Y chromosome will lead to a male (XY) offspring, while one bearing an X chromosome will lead to a female (XX) offspring (the ovum always provides an X chromosome). Sperm cells were first observed by Anton van Leeuwenhoek in 1677.

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