How much do you know about sperm cells?
You know guys make a lot of them–but how
many? You know they’re small–but how
small? You know sperm cells swim their way
to an egg cell–but with no brains, how in the
heck do they know which way to go?
See, men and women, there’s a lot about
sperm you just don’t know. Lucky for you,
we’ve found answers to nine big questions
about the amazing little wrigglers. Keep
reading to up your sperm I.Q…
How many sperm cells are released when
a guy ejaculates? Sperm counts vary from
about 20 million to 100 million sperm cells per
milliliter of ejaculate. Healthy guys produce
from 1.5 ml to 5 ml of semen each time they
ejaculate.
How big are sperm cells? From head to tail,
human sperm cells measure about 50
micrometers (0.05 millimeter, or roughly
0.002 inch). The tiniest object you can see
with your unaided eyes is about 0.1 mm–so
forget about seeing sperm without a
microscope. A human egg is about 30 times
bigger–large enough to be seen with the
naked eye.
What are the parts of a sperm cell? At one
time, people believed that sperm cells
contained tiny individuals known as
homunculi or animalcules. Now we know that
sperm contain not little people but DNA. And
we know that sperm cells are made of three
basic parts: the head (which contains the
genetic material), a middle section (packed
with mitochondria that provide energy for the
tail), and the tail itself (flagellum).
How fast do sperm swim? Sperm cells
swim about 5 mm a second, or about 0.2
inch. That’s a lot faster than it sounds. If a
whale could swim as fast, proportionally
speaking, as a sperm cell, it would zoom along
at 15,000 miles per hour.
How do sperm know where to go?
Scientists believe sperm cells find a waiting
egg cell via a couple of complex mechanisms.
They swim toward higher concentrations of
molecules released by the egg (known as
chemotaxis) and toward the high-temperature
areas of the woman’s reproductive tract,
where eggs are found (known as
thermotaxis).
Who discovered sperm cells? That would
be Antonie van Leeuwenhoek (1632-1723).
The amateur Dutch scientist and prolific
lensmaker first observed sperm cells in 1677.
Whose sperm was it? His own. Van
Leeuwenhoek was also the first to observe
bacteria, muscle fibers, and the flow of blood
cells through capillaries. No wonder he’s been
called the “father of microbiology.”
Portrait of
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek, circa 1680, by
Dutch artist Jan Verkolje.
How long can sperm cells live? That
depends. Inside a woman’s reproductive tract,
a man’s sperm can survive for up to five days.
Sperm deposited outside the body might live
at most a few hours.
http://youcleek.com/9-things-you-never-knew-about-sperm/

Just learnt sometyn new

Biology class

Educative

Plz house I need more knowledge on sperms. I live separate from my husband and I want to carry out an experiment. He is coming to visit me now cos am discharging my stretchy egg white but I will want him to make more sperm for me to insert when he is gone and my egg white discharge stops cos I learnt the ovary is released after the stretchy substance. How long can the sperm he made for me live? Plz I need urgent answers.

.

Schipolkky2211:
Plz house I need more knowledge on sperms. I live separate from my husband and I want to carry out an experiment. He is coming to visit me now cos am discharging my stretchy egg white but I will want him to make more sperm for me to insert when he is gone and my egg white discharge stops cos I learnt the ovary is released after the stretchy substance. How long can the sperm he made for me live? Plz I need urgent answers.

Sperm lives in women body for five days,