It has long been understood that a parent's DNA is the principal determinant of health and disease in offspring. Yet inheritance via DNA is only part of the story; a father's lifestyle such as diet, being overweight and stress ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 16, 2021
9
2811
Egg cells are by far the largest cells produced by most organisms. In humans, they are several times larger than a typical body cell and about 10,000 times larger than sperm cells.
Molecular & Computational biology
Mar 5, 2021
0
27
Competition among sperm cells is fierce—they all want to reach the egg cell first to fertilize it. A research team from Berlin now shows in mice that the ability of sperm to move progressively depends on the protein RAC1. ...
Biotechnology
Feb 4, 2021
0
239
An essential component of every eukaryotic cell is the cytoskeleton. Microtubules, tiny tubes consisting of a protein called tubulin, are part of this skeleton of cells. Cilia and flagella, which are antenna-like structures ...
Cell & Microbiology
Jan 7, 2021
0
82
Human white blood cells, known as leukocytes, swim using a newly described mechanism called molecular paddling, researchers report in the September 15th issue of Biophysical Journal. This microswimming mechanism could explain ...
General Physics
Sep 15, 2020
1
327
When stony corals have their renowned mass spawning events, in sync with the moon's cycle, colonies simultaneously release an underwater 'cloud' of sperm and eggs for fertilization. But how do the sperm and eggs survive several ...
Plants & Animals
Aug 18, 2020
0
24
Researchers at the University of New Hampshire have identified a quicker and less expensive way to count sperm in lobsters that could help scientists looking at any animal better understand mating, a key aspect of species ...
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 17, 2020
0
279
New insights into an elusive process that protects developing sperm cells from damage in growing embryos, sheds light on how genetic information passes down, uninterrupted, through generations.
Molecular & Computational biology
Jul 17, 2020
3
1541
The synaptonemal complex is a ladder-like cell structure that plays a major role in the development of egg and sperm cells in humans and other mammals. "The structure of this complex has hardly been changed in evolution, ...
Evolution
Jul 1, 2020
0
17
In the famous words of movie character Forrest Gump, "Life is like a box of chocolates; you never know what you're gonna get."
Molecular & Computational biology
Jun 4, 2020
0
19
