Karin Henseler, Pixabay
Sperm are generally viewed as having just one action in reproduction – to fertilise the female’s egg – but studies at the University of Adelaide are overturning that view.
Published in Nature Research journal Communications Biology, new research shows that sperm also deliver signals directly to the female reproductive tissues to increase the chances of conception.
Robinson Research Institute’s Professor Sarah Robertson, who led the project, said: “This research is the first to show that the female immune response is persuaded by signals in sperm to allow the male partner to fertilise her eggs and conceive a pregnancy.