In a Weird Twist, Sperm Have Been Caught Poisoning Other Sperm to Get Ahead in Mice
5 FEBRUARY 2021
When sperm race, it s for keeps. So it comes as little surprise that in some species, the competition over who reaches the egg first can get a little dirty.
A variant in mice genes has been found to give sperm that possess it a clear advantage by poisoning its peers while they re still in development, robbing them of their ability to efficiently sniff their way towards the egg.
In a rather karmic twist, a race consisting only of would-be assassins would be a complete disaster, with researchers finding the genetic variant risks overdosing on its own killer cocktail unless the race is balanced out by its victims.