health
Sperm get lost in space, Australian research into microgravity impacts suggests
Study into how fertilisation could work in space finds sperm may get disorientated when trying to find an egg
TL;DR
- Sperm exposed to microgravity become disoriented and tumble uncontrollably.
- Researchers simulated microgravity using a clinostat machine and tested sperm in a simulated female reproductive tract.
- Human sperm exposed to microgravity showed a 40% reduction in successfully navigating the simulated tract compared to a control group.
- Microgravity also affected the development of pig and mouse embryos.
- Adding progesterone helped overcome the sperm's disorientation.
- Previous research has explored the effects of space on reproduction, including studies on rats and mouse embryos, and NASA's Micro-11 mission.
- Understanding microgravity's effect on early reproduction is considered critical for maintaining human space settlements.