3D mapping of the movement of sperm has revealed that we’ve been wrong about how these gametes move all along.
In human reproduction, intercourse is really only half the battle. Once sperm is in the female it has a long way to go before reaching the egg, so to boost their chances these mobile gametes are fitted with a wiggly tail. We once believed that the sperm’s tail, known as the flagellum, moved in a way comparable to a snake or eel, but new research published in the journal Science Advances has revealed that they actually corkscrew their way to victory. Fetch your biology books, folks. It’s time for a rewrite.
