British scientists at Birmingham University have formulated an equation to find “the perfect sperm”. The algebraic equation describes the efficacy of the sperm targeting the egg, bearing in mind factors such as the length of its tail and the speed at which it moves.
The team of scientists hopes that Mathematics will help them create a mobile app to assess male fertility. Dr. Dave Smith from Birmingham University believes that this approach could considerably boost research into infertility, which affects one in five couples. He confirmed that defective sperm are considered to be the main infertility factor in 50% of cases (in France, 1 in 5 couples are affected by infertility).
Professor Allan Pacey, who is also involved in the research, nevertheless explained that assessing sperm quality is still an inexact science and leads to uncertainty vis-à-vis treatment.
Daily Mail (Stephen Adams et Pat Hagan), 06/11/2016.
Photo: Pixabay, DR.