Importance of microscopy for cell biologists in general and spermatologists specifically Part 2: Specialized microscopic techniques for sperm In the second blog on Microscopy, I indicated that brightfield microscopy, positive and negative phase microscopy and fluorescence microscopy are now routinely used for CASA analysis. Before proceeding to a more detailed discussion of fluorescence microscopy I [...]
The application of Microptic SCA software in the assessment of non-human primate spermatology in a biomedical research facility The Primate Unit and Delft Animal Centre (PUDAC) of the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) is the only facility with established breeding colonies which systematically produce non-human primates for biomedical research. Two popular species are maintained: [...]
Importance of microscopy for cell biologists in general and spermatologists specifically Part 2: Checklist how to setup your microscope perfectly for microscopy in general and four types of microscopy important in Computer Aided Sperm Analysis. In the first blog on Microscopy, I suggested that if you are serious about good microscopic images, you need to understand [...]
A unique indigenous breed of South African goat: Semen and sperm analyses of Tankwa goats using SCA 6.2 Tankwa goats in Carnarvon, Northern Cape, South Africa. Tankwa goats are indigenous to South Africa. A genetic study indicated that these goats are a unique breed and accordingly different from the Boer and Angora [...]
Importance of microscopy for cell biologists in general and spermatologists specifically Part 1: Basic and historical aspects: do spermatologists/andrologists use the microscope correctly? This is the first of a three-part series on the importance of microscopy particularly for those who investigate sperm biology. Why is this so important? In order to study sperm motility, sperm [...]
Personal interview to Microptic senior consultant and Blogger, Gerhard van der Horst Before holidays we want to offer you this interesting personal interview to Emeritus Prof Gerhard van der Horst (PhD, PhD) of Department of Medical Biosciences, University of the Western Cape, South Africa. In this interview Prof. van der Horst talks about himself, his [...]
IVF including ICSI needs CASA sperm functionality more than ever before! This blog comes at an important time in view of the upcoming ESHRE conference in Finland that focuses among many other aspects on infertility, sperm and interventions to overcome this through different IVF strategies. For a very long time and currently Computer Aided Sperm [...]
Is African elephant contraception needed? A major research programme in South Africa showed the value of the Sperm Class Analyzer in evaluating the semen quality of these gentle giants Fig. 1: Duma the African elephant at Addo Elephant Back Safaris (AEBS) The African elephant (Loxodonta africana) is classified as endangered by the International [...]
Standardization of semen analysis for humans: From 1600’s to current understanding in 2016 For approximately 50 years there have been attempts to standardize human semen analysis. Many researchers, clinicians, scientific bodies/organizations throughout the world have been involved to find semen characteristics that relate to human fertility. But where did it all start? Anton van Leeuwenhoek [...]
Hyperactivation of sperm: A very important sperm functional test. Semen quality is traditionally measured by determining sperm concentration, sperm motility,vitality normal sperm morphology and a whole range of other parameters. While these aspects are useful in terms of a record of baseline data it does not necessarily inform us about the functionality of the sperm. [...]
