Sperm Recognize "Brothers," Team Up for Speed

[n2doc]

Dyed to glow green in UV light, oldfield mouse sperm cells gather together.
Image courtesy Heidi Fisher
Christine Dell'Amore
National Geographic News
Published April 21, 2010

In promiscuous mouse species, sperm team up with their closest kin to give themselves an edge in the dash for the egg, a new study finds.

Once inside a female, sperm cells can discern and—via structures on their heads—literally hook up with their brethren amid the crush of sperm from other males. (Related: "How a Man Produces 1,500 Sperm a Second.")

The cells can then draft, Lance Armstrong-style, moving faster than they could alone thanks to more "engine" power from the cluster, said study co-author Heidi Fisher, an evolutionary geneticist at Harvard University's Hoekstra Laboratory.

"It's really amazing that this single cell can do this," Fisher said. "We used to think of sperm as packs of DNA with really fast tails. But they're able to make these complex organizations."

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2010/04/100421-glowing-sperm-brothers-cooperation-evolution/

[murray hill farm]

1. The human body...

is really amazing. This is pretty cool. Thanks for posting it.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

2. so if a woman is having multiple partners at one time,

one man's sperm gang up on the other men's in a race to the egg?

[Oregone]

4. "In promiscuous mouse species"

:)

[BadgerKid]

3. The drafting part seems like a fluid dynamics phenomenon

similar to why birds fly in a 'v' formation (it costs energy to leave the "zone"). The recognition part goes beyond that somehow.

[benld74]

5. I feel the need,,,, The need for SPEED!!!!!!

[Orsino]

6. Every dude needs a wingman. n/t

[BlueIris]

7. I've been reading about sperm "behavior" for years.

It's a fascinating topic.