First 3-D movies of living sperm
Tuesday, February 11, 2014 - 14:01
in Biology & Nature
To improve their chances of success, in vitro fertilization (IVF) clinics need to assess the viability of the sperm they use. Now doctors may soon have a new technique to help them sort the good sperm cells from the less viable ones: a tracking system, developed by a team of researchers from four European institutions, that takes 3-D movies of living sperm. In addition to showing the sperm's movement and behavior in real time, the novel method simultaneously provides detailed 3-D imaging of the sperm's form and structure to detect potential infertility-causing anomalies, such as the "bent tail" that prevents the cells from swimming straight.