OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effect of cell phone use on various markers of semen quality. DESIGN: Observational study. SETTING: Infertility clinic. PATIENT(S): Three hundred sixty-one men undergoing infertility evaluation were divided into four groups according to their active cell phone use: group A: no use; group B: <2 h/day; group C: 2-4 h/day; and group D: >4 h/day. INTERVENTION(S): None....

Climate change alters the thermal habitat of aquatic species on a global scale, generating novel environmental challenges during all life stages, including reproduction. Changes in water temperature profoundly influence the performance of ectothermic aquatic organisms. This is an especially crucial issue for migratory fish, because they traverse multiple environments in order to reproduce. In e...

BACKGROUND Standard sperm characteristics are poor predictors of the outcome of IVF treatments. On the contrary, sperm genome quality has been emphasized for several years as playing a major role in early embryogenesis, thus in the success of IVF attempt. METHODS Sperm DNA fragmentation from a selected group of 104 couples undergoing assisted reproductive techniques (ART) (IVF: n = 50; and IC...

Sperm senescence can have important evolutionary implications due to its deleterious effects on sperm quality and offspring performance. Consequently, it has been argued that polyandry (female multiple mating) may facilitate the selection of younger, and therefore competitively superior, sperm when ejaculates from multiple males compete for fertilization. Surprisingly, however, unequivocal evid...

Mounting an immune response against pathogens incurs costs to organisms by its effects on important life-history traits, such as reproductive investment and survival. As shown recently, immune activation produces large amounts of reactive species and is suggested to induce oxidative stress. Sperm are highly susceptible to oxidative stress, which can negatively impact sperm function and ultimate...

The sperm cell is designed to transmit the male DNA to the oocyte. The integrity of this DNA is an obvious requisite for normal embryo development and a successful pregnancy. Nevertheless, DNA quality, mainly the presence of DNA fragmentation, is not habitually assessed as part of sperm analysis due to the technical complexity of such an assessment and misunderstanding about its significance. C...

BACKGROUND Externalization of phosphatidylserine (EPS) occurs in apoptotic-like spermatozoa and could be used to remove them from sperm preparations to enhance sperm quality for assisted medical procreation. We first characterized EPS in sperms from infertile patients in terms of frequency of EPS spermatozoa as well as localization of phosphatidylserine (PS) on spermatozoa. Subsequently, we det...

The purpose of the present study was to assess the effect of modified camel milk (MCAM) and skim cow milk (SCOM) on semen quality of INRA180 and Boujaâd ram breeds, stored at 15°C for up to 24 hours. Semen samples were collected from eleven mature rams (6 from INRA180 and 5 from Boujaâd rams) and extended in SCOM vs MCAM, to reach a final concentration of 0.8×109 spermatozoa/mL, and stored at 1...

Optimal sperm cryopreservation is a prerequisite for the sustainable commercial application of frozen-thawed boar semen for AI. Three experiments were performed to identify factors influencing variability of postthaw sperm survival among 464 boar ejaculates. Sperm-rich ejaculate fractions were cryopre-served using a standard freezing-thawing procedure for 0.5-mL plastic straws and computer-cont...

Health[1] Health[1]Men's health [2]Norway [3]Forskning.no [4] There is a link between obesity and poor sperm quality. New research shows that fatty acids such as Omega3 may be an important explanation. Considering the fact that more and more people struggle with overweight and obesity, both in Norway and internationally, there is cause for concern, according to the researcher behind the study J...