November 7, 2009
In today’s time, about 10% of couples trying to conceive are having fetility problems. With such a sweeping epidemic scientists are working just as fast to address and solve the infertility problem. Environmentalists blame infertility on pollution, psychiatrists accuse an overwhelming stressful lifestyle and biologists zone in on genetics, but evolutionists propose a probable explanation as well; the battle of the sexes, a race that began with the beginning of time.
Evolutionary biologist Dr. Oren Hasson states, “The rate of human infertility is higher than we should expect it to be. By now, evolution should have improved our reproductive success rate. Something else is going on.” Researchers suggest the “something else” is the fact that “the bodies of men and women have become reproductive antagonists, not reproductive partners.”
Dr. Hasson explains his evolutionary theory sort of like a domino effect. Over time women have become more and more selective of the men they choose to date, or mate with. Likewise, their bodies have also become more selective of the sperm they allow to penetrate the egg, forcing the sperm to become stronger and faster to be the best competitor, super sperm. “Men are over-producing these aggressive sperm, producing many dozens of millions of them to increase their chances for successful fertilization.”
“It’s a delicate balance, and over time women’s and men’s bodies fine tune to each other. Sometimes, during the fine-tuning process, high rates of infertility can be seen. That’s probably the reason for the very high rates of unexplained infertility in the last decades,” Dr. Hasson suggests.
In reaction to the millions of super sperm that men are creating, women’s reproductive systems are making it increasingly more difficult to penetrate the egg since a second sperm will lead to the destruction of the egg, and put an end to a successful fertilization. “They eject, dilute, divert and kill spermatozoa so that only about a single spermatozoon gets into the vicinity of a viable egg at the right time.” The problem lies when a woman’s body reacts so defensively to fight off the super sperm that a union cannot be made at all. “This fuels the ‘arms race’ between the sexes and leads to the evolutionary cycle going on right now in the entire animal world.”
In regards to IVF, Dr. Hasson suggests that specialists keep a close eye on the number of sperm placed near the ova; this could have a direct correlation with the probability of a successful fertilization.
Perhaps the answer to the current infertility problem can only be found by taking all aspects into account, biological, psychological, environmental, and now evolutionary. Maybe only then can we accept the bigger picture and continue to progress forward, which is being done every day.
Source: http://infertilitylabblog.com/infertility/the-battle-of-the-sexes-a-race-to-an-infertile-population-the-evolutionary-stance-on-infertility
Resource: Science Daily
This article was written by a representative from the Unilab of Dade; it can be found on To check out more ground-breaking articles regarding reproductive issues, click on the link above which will lead you to Unilab’s blog. Unilab of Dade is an FDA registered high complexity reproductive medical laboratory that has provided top quality diagnostics and personalized service to the reproductive community for over 20 years. Unilab recognizes the unique testing needs of the reproductive specialist and provides personalized customer service that is unequaled in the laboratory field. We are open 365 days a year and hold most blood samples for one year. Unilab has also developed a comprehensive evaluation and validation process to ensure our testing methods are of the highest quality and sensitivity. Unilab’s specialized lab software allows a practice to individual or multiple tests, customized panels and view patient’s tests results all via the web. In to offer a complete, single source testing service for reproductive specialists, Unilab is also registered with the FDA to perform IVF donor screening. To read more about our practice and specific tests and services that we provide please go to Article Source: