The African rhinoceros’ crisis: What can reproductive biologists do? Fig. 1: African white rhinoceros shortly after darting (horns have been cut so that poachers may be less interested). There are two species of African rhinoceros, the black rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis, and the white rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum (Fig. 1). South Africa [...]
The Effect of “Personal Lubricants” on Sperm Quality Personal lubricants’ effect on sperm motility: Four students from the University of Aalborg used the SCA CASA system to conduct a study accessing the topic of personal lubricants’ effect on male fertility. Many couples use personal lubricants to enhance pleasure during intercourse, but not [...]
Epigenetics and lifestyle: new perspectives for future diagnostics Have you ever wondered why some people are more prone than others to suffer from obesity, diabetes or cancer? The most probable answer is thinking that these diseases are related to genes that parents transmitted to their progeny, which at the same time, were [...]
First comprehensive CASA study of Free ranging African elephant sperm in the wild: What does it take? It is seldom realized what it really takes to perform such a formidable research task in the total wilderness. It is not as if there are ten elephants behind bars waiting for semen collection in [...]
Frogs are both sentinel and keystone species and globally threatened: The need to study their sperm biology! Fig. 1: Amazon tree frog during amplexus. (https://live.staticflickr.com/2042/2432835781_af64b46f2f_b.jpg) Everyone knows what a frog is but where do these fascinating animals fit in the Animal Kingdom? They are amphibians (can live on land - [...]
Five PhD students of the Comparative Spermatology Group in Cape Town all use the SCA CASA system with great effect! Cape Town must have among the most active SCA CASA users in the world in a radius of 25 km. Approximately 30 scientists, students and embryologists from the University of the Western [...]
Dans l’exploration du couple infertile, le spermogramme et spermocytogramme sont toujours les examens de 1ère intention. La technique de référence reste la technique manuelle et la plupart des laboratoires d’analyse médicale peuvent réaliser ces examens, même si souvent les prescripteurs préfèrent qu’ils soient réalisés dans un laboratoire expérimenté en raison des variations [...]
New ventures in our understanding of sperm functionality In 2016 I wrote a blog on standardization of semen analysis in humans but with the emphasis on reviewing sperm motility analysis since the 1600’s until 2016. I showed the importance of standardization of quantitative semen analyses and the power of CASA in assisting [...]
Bees are Keystone species: Urgent need to study their sperm quality, preserve the sperm and inseminate best quality Fig. 1: Fynbos (meaning plants with small leaves) area near Stellenbosch, Western Cape, South Africa. What is a keystone species? A keystone species is a plant or animal species that plays a [...]
SCA is firstly a top class Computer Aided Semen Analysis System: But it has many other applications. What are these? The Sperm Class Analyzer (SCA) of Microptic S.L. needs no introduction and has earned a reputation as the most advanced CASA system providing the widest range of modules to analyse many facets [...]
