Scientists Invent Spermbots to Save Your Swimmers
Is the world ready for bionic sperm?
Sure, having kids might not be on your radar right this moment, but when the time comes, you’ll be glad that there are people out their devoting their lives to your sperm.
One of the leading causes of infertility among men is something called “low sperm motility,” a conditionwhere there’s nothing wrong with the viability of your sperm, but they just can’t swim their way to an egg to fertilize it. Researchers at IFW Dresden have come up with an ingenious, if not eerily invasive solution.
In a recent article published in the American Chemical Society’s journal Nano Letters, a team of scientists present their findings on a series of tests of a new, robotic sperm booster. Essentially, a helix-like structure made from metal supercharges stagnant sperm, propelling them toward the egg.
The secret is all in the magnets: “Our results indicate that metal-coated polymer microhelices are suitable for this task due to potent, controllable, and nonharmful 3D motion behavior,” the paper states.
Essentially, a tiny magnetic field provides the motion, and the results are expected to be safe for humans. And although the applications could be far-reaching for couples struggling with getting pregnant, the researchers have only tried this in a petri dish so far, and have yet to attempt human trials.
The very best part, though? They are literally calling this invention the Spermbot, like some sort of NSFW superhero a ninth grader might invent after sitting through his very first health class. Ah, modern medicine.
We’ll be sure to keep you posted on the adventures of Spermbot and Wonder Egg as this story unfolds.
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