Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Hanns Hatt and the smell of a woman

Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Hanns Hatt (actually, Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Med. Habil. Hanns Hatt) of the Department of Cell Physiology at Ruhr University Bochum, Germany, is in hot pursuit of understanding — understanding, especially, the many and varied roles played by olfaction. In a word: smell. Prof. Dr. Dr. Dr. Hatt’s home page lists a few of […]

The doc who gave out while giving sperm

“Details, please!” is the hope and plea of medical professionals everywhere, about a train of medical events reported to have happened in Wuhan, China. The hope is that the attending physicians involved in the case will publish a formal case report in a good-quality medical journal. The case, thus far, has been told only in the general […]

Banding-together of breeders: Seven sperm abreast

Ig Nobel Prize winner Mahadevan (2007 Ig Nobel physics prize, for studying how sheets become wrinkled) and colleagues have taken an applied-mathematical look at yet another unanswered question. As happens so often with Mahadevan and his merry, varying band of collaborators, a better-than-anyone-had-before answer appeared. Details are in this study: “The dynamics of sperm cooperation in a competitive […]

The omnibus mixed-up paternity/genetics/academics adventure of T. Lippert

The Faculty Lounge blog has a long (but riveting!) account of the very strange story of Tom Lippert. One of its many aspects echoes of the story of Cecil Jacobson (Dr. Jacobson was awarded the 1992 Ig Nobel Prize in biology for devising a simple, single-handed method of quality control. [REFERENCE: “The Babymaker : Fertility Fraud and the Fall […]

(Walnuts + Sperm) vs. (Coke + Sperm)

A new study about the effect of walnuts begs comparison with the Ig Nobel Prize-winning study “Effect of ‘Coke’ on Sperm Motility“. The new study is: “Walnuts Improve Semen Quality in Men Consuming a Western-style Diet: Randomized Control Dietary Intervention Trial,” Wendie A. Robbins [pictured here], Lin Xun, Leah Z. FitzGerald, Samantha Esguerra, Susanne M. Henning, […]