Fluorescent sperm are revealing new details about exactly what happens during insemination and fertilization. Researchers genetically altered fruit flies so their sperm heads were fluorescent red or green allowing scientists to observe in striking detail what happens to live sperm inside the female.
“Despite nearly a century of intensive and innovative work on the reproductive biology of the fruit fly, much of what we know about the female reproductive tract is a mystery,” says Scott Pitnick, a professor of biology at Syracuse University. “Our jaws hit the floor the first time we looked through a microscope and saw these glowing sperm. It turns out that they are constantly on the move within the female’s specialized sperm-storage organs and exhibit surprisingly complex behavior.”
Full story at Futurity.