SPECIALIZED

CELLS
• Sperm Cell
• Oocyte
• Stem Cell
ICE BREAKER
STRONGER THAN
WE DID BEFORE
Instruction: With your groups, choose one
representative to play the role of the tail
while the rest will play as the head. Note
that girls can also participate in this game.
SPERM CELL
SPERM CELL
 A sperm cell is the male sex cell. All animals (and many other types of
organisms) produce what are called sex cells. Sex cells are the cells, that
when combined, produce a completely new organism. For example, your
mother and every other human female, carry egg cells (female sex cells) in
their ovaries. Your father and every other human male carry sperm cells, or
male sex cells, in their testes. When an egg cell and a sperm cell unite, the
two combine to form an embryo or an unborn, developing organism. At this
point, the embryo is able to develop into a fully formed offspring of its
parents. When the cells combine in a chicken, a chick is the result. When
the cells combined in your mother's body, you were the result.
HEY! WANNA KNOW MORE
ABOUT ME?
Description Sperm cells are male reproductive cells. They have a head, which is the
body of the cell, and a tail, which is the flagellum that propels the cell.
Because they need to be efficient, they contain lots of mitochondria for
energy and a nucleus to deliver DNA. Once a sperm reaches the egg,
the female reproductive cell, it makes a totipotent zygote, which will
divide and eventually make up all of the cells in the body.
Name Sperm comes from the Greek: Sperma=seed
Actual Size The tail is approximately 0.5mm, or 50 microns long, half the thickness of
a sheet of paper. The head is about 5 microns long.

Quantity:
A man releases about 250 million sperm per ejaculation, but it varies.
System Reproductive System

History 1677: Antonie van Leeuwenhoek was the first to observe sperm in a microscope.

Fascinating Facts Flowers: In flowers, the sperm is in the pollen.

Haploid: Sperm cells have 23 chromosomes- half the normal number of chromosomes in
a human cell!

In Culture: Delivery Man: a 2013 movie where Vince Vaughn stars as a man who
donated sperm and fathered many children.

Every Sperm is Sacred: a song from Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life

Wanna see a sperm?

This drawing of a sperm shows its main parts. What is the role of each part?
How do you think the shape of the sperm might help it swim?
 SPERM
 The head of the sperm contains the nucleus. The nucleus holds the DNA of the
cell. The head also contains enzymes that help the sperm break through the cell
membrane of an egg.
 The midpiece of the sperm is packed with mitochondria. Mitochondria are
organelles in cells that produce energy. Sperm use the energy in the midpiece to
move.
 The tail of the sperm moves like propeller, around and around. This tail is a long
flagella that pushes the sperm forward. A sperm can travel about 30 inches per hour.
This may not sound very fast, but don’t forget how a small sperm is. For its size, a
sperm moves about as fast as you do when you walk briskly.
THE SPERM CELL - DESIGNED
TO FERTILIZE EGGS
 A sperm cell is very small and has a little tail which provides movement so it can swim and
find an egg to fertilize

 Its head contains enzymes (in the vacuole) which allow it to digest its way through an egg
membrane so the two nuclei can join.

 It contains half the number of chromosomes in the nucleus - these carry genetic information
from the father, which will be passed on to the offspring
 ADDITIONAL
INFORMATION
ABOUT SPERM
CELLS
WHAT IS THE MAIN
FUNCTION OF THE SPERM
CELL?
 A SPERM CELL consist of two parts, the head and the tail. The DNA, or biological
information the sperm needs to pass on, is contained in its head. The tail of the sperm helps
give it to the momentum it needs to reach the egg cell, so it is able to create the embryo in the
first place.

WHAT IS THE SPERM MADE

OUT OF?
 Semen is only one percent sperm; the rest is composed of over 200 separate proteins, as well
as vitamins and minerals including vitamin C, calcium, chlorine, citric acid, fructose, lactic
acid, magnesium, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, sodium, vitamin B12, and zinc.
HOW THE SPERM IS FORMED?
 Sperm develop in the testicles within a system of tiny tubes called the seminiferous tubules.
The sperm then move to the vas deferens, or sperm duct. The seminal vesicles and prostate
gland produce a whitish fluid called seminal fluid, which mixes with sperm to form semen
when a male is sexually stimulated.

Fertilizes an egg
cell-female gamete The head contains genetic information and an
enzyme to help penetrate the egg cell
membrane. The middle section is packed with
mitochondria for energy. The tail moves the
sperm to the egg.
FACTS ABOUT
SPERM CELLS
SPERMS ARE SUSCEPTIBLE TO DAMAGE
FROM WIRELESS TECHNOLOGY
 In 2012, Fertility and Sterility published findings of a study on the impact of wireless devices such as
laptop computers and mobile phones. Researchers wanted to find out if laptop computers WI-FI
connection played a role in decreasing sperm health alone. In the past it was believed that the heat alone
from a laptop computer may cause adverse effects to sperm health, but this new study shows that laptop
computers connected to the internet through WI-FI damaged sperm through a non-thermal effect.

SPERM HAVE A SUPERHERO-LIKE

POWER
 Sperm can melt the surface of the female egg. They do this by releasing enzymes from a portion of the
head known as the acrosome, to dissolve the outer membrane of the egg. This helps the sperm to burrow
through the egg wall. The sperm plasma then fuses with the plasma membrane of the egg. At this time
the sperm head disconnects from the tail and conception of a new life occurs.
Fertility at the Speed
of Light
Human sperm travels at the staggering rate of up
to 4 millimeters per minute, but many are as slow
as 1 millimeter per minute.  You have to put this
into perspective; human sperm are only 55
millionths of a millimeter or 55 microns in length,
so a millimeter is a pretty big deal to the mini-
me’s.
The average length of the journey to the fallopian
tubes is 175 millimeters, which means the Road
Runners of the team can get there in 45 minutes,
but in practice the journey takes anything up to 3
days.
Sperms are Like Men –
No Sense of Direction
One of the reasons for sperm taking so long to
find the egg is because they have no sense of
direction.  There are chemical signatures released
by the egg to act as a “guide” to the sperm, but
have you ever known of a man to take directions
from a woman?
Only 1 in 5 sperm will start swimming in the
right direction after ejaculation, which accounts
for that age old bedroom debate about who will
be sleeping in the sticky patch after making love.
Eat Your Veggies
How healthy a man is has a direct bearing on
his fertility.  Eating fresh fruit and vegetables,
avoiding junk food and maintaining a healthy
weight, lots of fresh air and exercise, taking
vitamin supplements, getting plenty early
nights and abstaining from tobacco and
alcohol, are all guaranteed to give a man a
higher sperm count.  Not only will he produce
more sperm, but they will be much more
energetic and thus more likely to be The One –
the only issue with this is your offspring are
likely to be very boring.
SUMMARY
Sperm are male gametes that form in the testes
and mature in the epididymis.
The head of the sperm contains the nucleus, the
midpiece is packed with mitochondria, and the
tail moves like a propeller.
OOCYTE
WHAT IS AN OOCYTE?
 An oocyte is an immature egg (an immature ovum).
Oocytes develop to maturity from within a follicle. These
follicles are found along the outside layer of the ovaries.
During each reproductive cycle, several follicles begin to
develop.
 Typically, only one oocyte each cycle will become a
mature egg and be ovulated from its follicle. This process
is known as ovulation. 
 A woman is born with all the oocytes she will ever have.
 This number decreases naturally with age. Age also
reduces the quality and genetic stability of the oocytes.
This is why it's harder to get pregnant after 35. 
 The fully mature ovum is visible to the human eye,
measuring 0.1 mm. It is about the size of the period at the
end of this sentence.
  An oocyte is a female gametocyte or germ cell
involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an
immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced
in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The
female germ cells produce a primordial germ cell
(PGC), which then undergoes mitosis, forming
oogonia. During oogenesis, the oogonia become
primary oocytes. An oocyte is a form of genetic
material that can be collected for cryoconservation.
Cryoconservation of animal genetic resources have
been put into action as a means of conserving
traditional livestock.
Fertility drugs can increase the number of
developing oocytes and ovulating as mature
eggs. This is the cause for the higher risk of
multiple pregnancies when taking fertility
drugs. For every ovum ovulated, there is a
possibility it can become fertilized by a
sperm cell. These fertilized ova can become
embryos (and, eventually, if all goes well,
babies.)
 CHARACTERISTICS
 Cytoplasm
Oocytes are rich in cytoplasm, which contains yolk
granules to nourish the cell early in development.
 Nucleus
During the primary oocyte stage of oogenesis, the
nucleus is called a germinal vesicle.
 Nest
The space within an ovum or immature ovum is
located is the cell-nest
PRIMARY OOCYTE
Every oocyte will go through two separate meiotic
cell divisions before becoming a mature
ovum. Meiotic cell division leads to growth and
maturity of the oocyte, and not additional oocytes. 
Towards the end of prenatal development, the
oocytes stop multiplying in number and begin to
mature individually.
 At this stage, they go through the first meiotic cell
division. This cell division leads to oocyte growth—not
more oocytes—like what happens with the oogonium.
 But they don’t just speed through development to maturity
right now.
 The primary oocytes freeze in their development and
remain frozen until reproductive hormones trigger the next
stage. 
 Oogenesis will continue at the age of puberty.
SECONDARY OOCYTE
 Puberty jump-starts the next stage of oocyte maturity.
 Not all the oocytes will go through these later stages of
oocyte development together, of course. They more or less
take turns over a woman’s reproductive years. Each month,
a new set of primary oocytes begin to mature. 
 Once a primary oocyte is affected by reproductive
hormones, it completes Stage I of the meiotic cell division.
This is known as oocyte maturation.
 At the end of this first stage of meiotic cell division, the
cell splits into two separate cells: a small polar body and a
large secondary oocyte.
 The small polar body eventually deteriorates.
 The secondary oocyte begins the next stage of maturation.
The Journey Of Sperm.mp4 Oocyte The Largest Human Cell.mp4
STEM
CELLS
WHAT ARE STEM CELLS?
Stem cells are a class of undifferentiated cells
that are able to differentiate into specialized cell
types.

Stem cells are unspecialized cells that develop

into the specialized cells that make up the
different types of tissue in the human body.
TYPES OF STEM CELLS
 Adult Stem Cells
 hidden deep within organs, surrounded by millions of ordinary
cells, and may help replenish some of the body’s cells when
needed.
 Embryonic stem cells
 derived from a four- or five-day-old human embryo that is in
the blastocyst phase of development.
POTENCY OF STEM CELLS
Totipotent
 the ability to differentiate into all possible cell types. Examples
are the zygote formed at egg fertilization and the first few cells
that result from the division of the zygote.
Pluripotent
 the ability to differentiate into almost all cell types. Examples
include embryonic stem cells and cells that are derived from
the mesoderm, endoderm, and ectoderm germ layers that are
formed in the beginning stages of embryonic stem cell
differentiation.
Multipotent
 The ability to differentiate into a
closely related family of cells.
Examples include hematopoietic
(adult) stem cells that can become red
and white blood cells or platelets.
 BENEFITS OF STEM CELLS
Stem cells are currently used to treat cancers
such as leukaemia. You may be familiar with
the concept of bone marrow transplants, which
have been used for decades now to provide a
healthy source of cells in the body. Other
diseases that stem cells may help include:
Parkinson's disease
Stroke
Spinal cord injuries
Retinal diseases
Alzheimer's disease
Type I diabetes
INTERESTING FACTS YOU MAY
NOT KNOW ABOUT CURRENT AND
PAST STEM CELL RESEARCH
Adult Stem Cells Saved my Life
In a rebuttal to the above, CNS News tells the true
stories of those who were helped by adult stem cell
treatment. They involve everyone from a car accident
victim to someone with sickle cell anemia. There is
even a report on someone who was helped after four
heart attacks.
Third Source of Stem Cells
An embryo or adult aren’t the only two places one can
get stem cells. Blood used from the umbilical cord made
during pregnancies is also a good source. And the
results can be impressive. In 2006, researchers at the
University of Minnesota announced they were able to
largely reverse the effects of strokes in lab rats using
stem cells found in human umbilical cord blood.
INTERESTING FACTS YOU MAY NOT KNOW
ABOUT FUTURE STEM CELL RESEARCH

Cloning
It sounds like something out of a science fiction movie
gone wrong, but stem cells have made the practice of
cloning a more foreseeable reality. This entry from the
National Human Genome Research Institute describes
the two types of cloning, one for reproductive
purposes and another for producing embryonic stem
cells.
The Blind Might be Able to See
Could Stevie Wonder actually get to see for the first time? A small
biotech firm in California hopes the answer is “yes.” Two patients
suffering from macular degeneration, or a form of blindness,
volunteered to have lab grown retinal cells implanted.
Stem Cells for Type 1 Diabetes
Stem cell research works to treat a variety of degenerative
diseases, but an interesting fact is that they are also used in
diabetes research. A study out of Tel Aviv University believes that
injecting stem cells into the pancreas could cause them to develop
into insulin-producing beta cells, replacing the cells that have been
damaged or destroyed by the body’s immune system. Endocrine
Web has more.