MATORDED Sperm Power A new male fertility test
A sperm detection technique based on physics could offer a more precise home test for people trying to conceive
The sperm have to move vigorously to reach an egg, and that movement is key to a new intelligent fertility test. The technique, tested with toro semen and detailed in Advanced Materials InterfacesTake advantage of physics to make fertility tests easier and more profitable, and if it also works for human sperm, it is possible to help people address conception problems from home.
“Fifty percent of families face a great challenge in terms of addressing fertility,” says Sushanta Mitra, a mechanical engineer at the University of Waterloo and co -author of the recent study. “Our goal is to democratize that process.”
Current laboratory tests for male fertility involve examining a semen sample under a microscope. Experts verify the vitality of sperm cells, which is a good fertility proxy because gametes must quickly swim more than 1,000 times in length to reach an egg. But these laboratory tests can be expectations and slow. Meanwhile, home tests tend to be less precise because Ofs only detect the presence of certified proteins in sperm instead of evaluating how cells move.
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The recently described method uses basic physics to measure the activity of sperm without expensive equipment. The researchers placed toro semen drops at the end of a flexible plastic strip suspended next to a water resistant surface. Then, they moved the surface towards the fall until it contacted and then moved it back to its original position. They measured how strongly each drop of semen stuck to the surface, through weak hydrogen bonds, since it moved away. If many highly active sperm moved inside the fluid, the hydrogen bonds broke faster, interrupting the adhesion of the gout surface and making it separate before; The more animated the sperm, the less sticky the fall is. “It is exciting to come with a way of quantifying the mobility of sperm at home,” says Stanford University Urologist Tony Chen, who did not participate in the study.
Mitra and his team hope to develop this technique in a cheaper, Asier and more precise domestic fertility test. “There is a lot of stigma around male fertility,” says Mitra. The easiest private tests could encourage people to evaluate the quality of semen, which allows them to register while making lifestyle settings to encourage lethargic sperm, such as tranquility or reduction in alcohol consumption. These tests could also be potentially useful for cattle raising.
The next steps of the researchers will be to standardize the tests and obtain reference points for different types of sperm, including humans and cattle. Chen says that clinical trials that the evaluation drops of many different patients will also be necessary to ensure that the tests work with samples that have variable pH levels, white blood cells and fructose concentrations. “There is more than sperm in semen,” he says.
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