Sperm cells are extremely efficient at swimming against a current: How sperm travel long distances, through difficult terrain, to reach an egg
Tuesday, May 27, 2014 - 14:21
in Biology & Nature
Like salmon traveling upstream to spawn, sperm cells are extremely efficient at swimming against the current, according to new research. The discovery may help us to understand how some sperm travel such long distances, through difficult terrain, to reach and fertilize an egg. Of the hundreds of millions of sperm cells that begin the journey up the oviducts, only a few hardy travelers will ever reach their destination. Not only do the cells have to swim in the right direction over distances that are around 1,000 times their own length, but they are exposed to different chemicals and currents along the way.