Your Swimmers Are Sprinters
February 9, 2010 No Comments
Scientist have found out what it is that makes sperm swim faster when they get closer to the egg.
This will be used to help further the search for a male contraceptive, something with a lot of obstacles to it, as well as helping men whose swimmers are too slow to cause a pregnancy.
Apparently sperm don’t start swimming as soon as the gun goes off; they wait until they are closer to the finish line because of limited resources, that way they are more likely to be the winner of the race instead of giving up half-way there.
“They respond to a substance called anandamide, which is present in the female reproductive tract, and in particularly high levels near the egg.”
Scientists have found the “proton channel” that starts the reaction to the anandamide and if they were able to block this they might be able to stop sperm completely leading to male contraceptive of some nature.
The search for a male contraceptive is something that greatly interests me. There doesn’t seem to be anything between condoms and vasectomies and I’m sure a lot of couples would benefit from an alternative.
