Infertile couple? Blame evolution … and supersperm!

Here’s a bit of news that promises to chill your loins. Ever wondered why so many couples these days seem to be becoming increasingly infertile? Well, scientists have discovered why … and as usual, they blame the men. *pouts*

Well, men’s sperm, specifically. Enter … the supersperm!

It is well known that having too few sperm can cut a man's chances of fatherhood.

But some may be suffering because they are producing super-sperm which are too fast and powerful, scientists believe.

Evolutionary biologist Oren Hasson believes they race past the defences thrown up by a woman's body so effectively that more than one sperm penetrates the egg.

This process, known as polyspermy, ruins the egg - and the chances of fertilisation.
In Britain, around one in six couples has trouble conceiving naturally and almost 35,000 women a year resort to IVF.

Sheesh. Talk about being too good in bed … *ducks*

How did this come about? Quite simple, actually. As time goes by, men’s sperm gets more and more, well, potent. As a result, the female body evolves stronger biochemical defenses aimed at ejecting, diluting, diverting and killing the spermatozoa to try and defend its egg (after all, the female egg is meant to be fecundated by a single spermatozoa, not an army, at which point the process is ruined). Problem is, sperm production is still increasing in … um … power, to try and counter these ever-increasing defenses.

What’s even more ironic, is that just as men who produce sperm of too high a quality are infertile, so are men with quality that’s too low, meaning only “regular guys” have a chance now. Heh …

(via The Daily Grail)
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