The mechanics of motility
Dr. Christopher Lowe of Swansea, England has been studying the method of movement employed by sperm as a hobby. In doing so, he has mathematically modelled the action of the sperm tail as it propels the sperm toward the egg through the viscous fluid within the female body. Sperm cells are known to travel quite slowly through this fluid, but Dr. Lowe has dicovered that they move much more rapidly than they should be able to given the known frequency of tail flagellation. He suggests that sperm employ a stiff tail for propulsion rather than a looser more flexible tail. Read more
here.
current science news posted by Kirsten at 4/12/2002 10:29:00 AM
Scientists
& Engineers for America
RSS
