A wide head helps sperm to swim together

Researchers at the University of Maryland used machine learning to find that, relative to length, sperm with a wider head are more likely to gather and swim together.

"This is really a form and function study that requires shape and how to behave, but we have adopted a new method using machine learning to do these automated morphological analyses

Sperm is usually a solitary swimmer, but in a few species, the sperm adhere to each other and swim collectively until they get close to the egg

To find out, they looked at the sperm of six closely related species of mice, some of which have sperm that swim in groups, and some have sperm that swim alone

Now that, thanks to this study, researchers know that width is an important characteristic, they can begin to investigate how and why it affects the sperm behavior of these mice

"We think there may be some kind of adhesion mechanism that holds the sperm together.

In order to carry out the automated measurement and machine learning aspects of this research, Fisher and Hook collaborated with Professor Wolfgang Losert of the Department of Physics and Institute of Physical Science and Technology of the University of Michigan and members of his laboratory

"One of the most exciting aspects of this work is that we can combine the expertise from the campus to ask an interesting question about biology," Fisher said

By releasing the code they developed for the automated measurement and machine learning parts of the study, the team hopes that other researchers can apply the same methods to understand other forms of complex cellular behavior

Losert said: "This work emphasizes the importance of data analysis experts and subject matter experts working together to break down barriers between fields and push the boundaries of knowledge

Kristin A.