Category: sperm

Cooling Underwear Puts Sperm On Ice

On By A.P.In carboxymethyl cellulose sodium, Dr. Lutter, fertility, infertility, Snowballs, SnowWedge, sperm, underwearLeave a comment

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The briefs, called Snowballs, began last year as a Kickstarter campaign by Joshua Shoemake.

The idea began with several couples struggling to conceive. One couple had a miscarriage. They were told to give up and try adopting. Then a gynecologist told them that elevated scrotal temperature can be a major cause of infertility in men, according to the company.

Sick of holding melting freezer bags on their crotches, the guys worked on a design for organic cotton boxer-briefs with space for a “SnowWedge” gel pack made from carboxymethyl cellulose sodium that could stay cool for at least 30 minutes. Using the briefs helped one of the couples have a baby girl, the company said.

http://news.discovery.com/tech/gear-and-gadgets/cooling-underwear-puts-sperm-on-ice-140110.htm

Thansk to Dr. Lutter for bringing this to the It’s Interesting community.

New studies show men’s sperm quality decreases at age 35

On By A.P.In aging, Allan Pacey, Bronte Stone, fertility, Reproductive Technology Laboratories in Los Angeles, sperm, University of Sheffield, X chromosome, Y chromosomeLeave a comment

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Men’s sperm quality seems to deteriorate after the age of 35. The proportion of sperm carrying an X chromosome also seems to increase, meaning older dads are more likely to have daughters.

It has been controversial whether the quality and quantity of a man’s sperm deteriorates with age. “However, there is fairly convincing epidemiological evidence that older men do find it harder to conceive a child – regardless of female age – and as men get older their partners are at increased risk of miscarriage,” says Allan Pacey, a fertility specialist at the University of Sheffield, UK. There is also a slightly increased risk of older men fathering children with genetic disorders.

To investigate, Bronte Stone at Reproductive Technology Laboratories in Los Angeles and his colleagues analysed sperm samples from 5081 men aged between 16 and 72. They found a deterioration in sperm quality and quantity after age 35. Some previous studies had suggested that the decline doesn’t start until around five years later (Fertility and Sterility, doi.org/m85).

“Whether it’s 35 or 40, the message from this and other papers is that men should be aware of age-related changes in their reproductive system and if they wish to become fathers they shouldn’t leave it too late,” Pacey says.

The study also found a decrease in the ratio of Y to X-bearing sperm once men hit 55, though it is not clear why.

http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21929275.500-mens-sperm-quality-decreases-at-age-35.html

Children with older fathers and grandfathers live longer

On By A.P.In aging, Dan Eisenberg, gene, Kebmodee, Newcastle University, Northwestern University, paternal age, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Science, sperm, telomere, Thomas von ZglinickiLeave a comment

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Delaying fatherhood may offer survival advantages, say US scientists who have found children with older fathers and grandfathers appear to be “genetically programmed” to live longer.

The genetic make-up of sperm changes as a man ages and develops DNA code that favours a longer life – a trait he then passes to his children. The team found the link after analysing the DNA of 1,779 young adults. Their work appears in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Experts have known for some time that lifespan is linked to the length of structures known as telomeres that sit at the end of the chromosomes that house our genetic code, DNA. Generally, a shorter telomere length means a shorter life expectancy. Like the plastic tips on shoelaces, telomeres protect chromosomal ends from damage. But in most cells, they shorten with age until the cells are no longer able to replicate.

However, scientists have discovered that in sperm, telomeres lengthen with age. And since men pass on their DNA to their children via sperm, these long telomeres can be inherited by the next generation. Dr Dan Eisenberg and colleagues from the Department of Anthropology at Northwestern University studied telomere inheritance in a group of young people living in the Philippines.

Telomeres, measured in blood samples, were longer in individuals whose fathers were older when they were born. The telomere lengthening seen with each year that the men delayed fatherhood was equal to the yearly shortening of telomere length that occurs in middle-aged adults. Telomere lengthening was even greater if the child’s paternal grandfather had also been older when he became a father. Although delaying fatherhood increases the risk of miscarriage, the researchers believe there may be long-term health benefits.

Inheriting longer telomeres will be particularly beneficial for tissues and biological functions that involve rapid cell growth and turnover – such as the immune system, gut and skin – the scientists believe. And it could have significant implications for general population health. “As paternal ancestors delay reproduction, longer telomere length will be passed to offspring, which could allow lifespan to be extended as populations survive to reproduce at older ages.”

Prof Thomas von Zglinicki, an expert in cellular ageing at Newcastle University, said more research was needed.

“Very few of the studies that linked telomere length to health in late life have studied the impact, if any, of paternal age. It is still completely unclear whether telomere length at conception (or birth) or rate of telomere loss with age is more important for age-related morbidity and mortality risk in humans. “The authors did not examine health status in the first generation offspring. It might be possible that the advantage of receiving long telomeres from an old father is more than offset by the disadvantage of higher levels of general DNA damage and mutations in sperm,” he said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18392873

Thanks to Kebmodee for bringing this to the attention of the It’s Interesting community.