News > Human sperm swims in entirely different way than earlier thought

Human sperm swims in entirely different way than earlier thought

In a significant development, scientists have demolished the universally accepted view of how sperm swim.  About 300 years ago, Antonie van Leeuwenhoek used one of the earliest microscopes to describe human sperm as having a tail, which lashes with a snakelike movement.

This is an optical illusion, according to the new study. Human sperm figured out if they roll as they swim their one-sided stoke would average itself out, and they would swim forwards.