Media coverage
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Media coverage
Title Sperm swim up to 70 per cent faster when they have a lazy tail Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet New Scientist Media type Web Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 10/07/20 Description News article Producer/Author Jason Arunn Murugesu Persons Meurig Gallagher, Cara Neal, Jackson Kirkman-Brown, David Smith, Atticus Hall-McNair Title Doing more with less: Sperm without a fully active tail move faster and more efficiently Degree of recognition National Media name/outlet Birmingham Health Partners Media type Web Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 10/07/20 Producer/Author Louise Stanley Persons Meurig Gallagher, David Smith, Cara Neal, Jackson Kirkman-Brown Title Doing more with less: Sperm without a fully active tail move faster and more efficiently, new UK study finds Degree of recognition Local Media name/outlet University of Birmingham Media type Web Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 9/07/20 Description UoB press release Producer/Author Sophie Belcher Persons Meurig Gallagher, David Smith, Cara Neal, Jackson Kirkman-Brown
Media contributions
1Media contributions
Title LAZY-TAILED SPERM SWIM 70 PERCENT FASTER Degree of recognition International Media name/outlet BNR Niewsradio Media type Radio Duration/Length/Size 3 minutes 43 Country/Territory United Kingdom Date 13/07/20 Description English translation:
You would say the faster a sperm moves, the better. Then he has the best chance of being the first to arrive. New research shows that this is not entirely correct. Sperm swim much better if the tip of their tail doesn't move.
Researchers found this out when they examined in a mathematical model what had an effect on the movement of the sperm cell. They saw again and again that the movement of the tail was much more efficient (up to 4 times more) if the last bit did not move. In fact, sperm with a lazy tail tip swam 70 percent faster. This is an important find, because knowing what characterizes a good swimmer is important knowledge for fertility research.
In this audio you will hear researcher Meurig Gallagher from the University of Birmingham . Read more about the study here: Doing more with less: Sperm without a fully active tail move faster and more efficiently, new UK study finds .
Of course, many more factors determine whether a fertilization is successful or not. The woman's egg also plays an important role in this. Earlier research has shown that the egg even influences which seed may even come close: Egg cells prefer some sperm cells over others .Producer/Author Karlijn Meinders Persons Meurig Gallagher
Keywords
- sperm
- mathematical modelling
- fluid dynamics