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This scientific study is likely to upset the representation we have of the sperm. If the majority of us very often compare it to an aquatic animal, it would seem that the reality is totally different. Explanations.
We imagined it swimming to reach the ovum, wagging its tail from side to side, and yet it is quite different. In the 17th century, the Dutchman Antonie van Leeuwenhoek studied the movement of spermatozoa under a microscope, a historic first. By exploring it more closely, the scientist had discovered that it behaved in the same way as an eel in water.
Here is an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=it3OxdWa67Q
But this ancestral vision, still relevant today, is about to be turned upside down. In study published on July 31, British and Mexican scientists have corrected this thousands-year-old error using new 3D technology.
By reconstructing the very rapid movements of the sperm, the team discovered that its tail was ultimately wobbly. A surprising feature that only allows it to wiggle on one side and in one direction. So, it seems to roll forward, as a corkscrew-like impulse. In other words, it spins like a real top.
Watch this disturbing demonstration:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsVUT3rfwMY
This discovery was made possible thanks to the help of a very specific camera which can record more than 55,000 images per second.
This stunning new study could help better understand the reasons for male infertility. Indeed, the symmetry or lack of symmetry of the sperm could be the main cause.
A striking study which marks a great advance in the medical world.
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