Sure, you can make babies in space - but sperm may get confused by gravity: new research
Yahoo • • science
Key Points:
- New research published in Communications Biology reveals that human sperm struggle to navigate properly in microgravity, which could complicate conception in space.
- Scientists used a simulated zero-gravity obstacle course mimicking the female reproductive tract and found a significant reduction in sperm successfully navigating under these conditions.
- Adding the hormone progesterone improved sperm navigation in microgravity, suggesting it may help guide sperm to fertilization sites in space.
- While fertilization rates dropped by about 30% in simulated microgravity, the sperm that did fertilize eggs produced higher quality embryos initially, though prolonged exposure led to poorer embryo development.
- Researchers stress more studies are needed to understand reproduction in space fully, noting that protecting embryos from microgravity in early stages will be critical for future space colonization efforts.
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