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The 'spermbot' is a crazy way to fix slow swimmers — but it just might work

Window_and_Spermbot_could_help_solve_male_infertility_ _Headline_Science_ _YouTube
American Chemical Society/YouTube

About one in five men have slow swimmers, properly known in the medical community as "low sperm motility." 

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It's one of the leading causes of infertility. 

Scientists in Germany have developed a technique that may one day help solve this problem: spermbots. These microscopic machines would act like tiny motors, propelling the sperm toward the egg.

It sounds a little crazy, but it just might work. 

To create the spermbots, the researchers used a magnet to wind a tiny metal coil (made of titanium and nickel) around the tail of the sperm, as shown in this animation: 

The researchers published their preliminary results in the January issue of the journal Nano Letters

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Spermbots have a long way to go before they're ready for clinical use, though. The researchers note that the materials used in the metal coil "are not overly harmful to sperm cells," but much more testing is needed before they can be deemed safe and effective enough for patients. 

Today's infertility treatments, which include artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF), aren't that reliable. The study notes that artificial insemination only works about 30% of the time. The numbers are roughly the same per round of IVF (with highly variable success depending on age and other factors), but that process is much more invasive and costs an average of $12,400, according to the American Society for Reproductive Medicine. 

Maybe one day, spermbots could come to the rescue. 

Here's more footage of their experiments and further explanation in a video from the American Chemical Society

Infertility
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