Troy, 43, (C) holds his eight-month-old grandson B.J. for the first time at San Quentin state prison for a Father's Day visit organised by "Get on the Bus" in San Quentin, California June 8, 2012.
Troy, 43, (C) holds his eight-month-old grandson B.J. for the first time at San Quentin state prison for a Father's Day visit organised by "Get on the Bus" in San Quentin, California June 8, 2012. Reuters

In the near future synthetic sperms could be used in order to treat male infertility.

According to the report by Daily Mail, scientists from Queen’s University, Canada, identified the protein needed to start the fertilisation process. They would like to remake the synthetic version of this protein called PAWP in the lab. The research was published in the FASEB Journal.

Researchers believe that PAWP will be really helpful in situations where a sperm finds it difficult to fertilise an egg, an event which eventually leads to the formation of an embryo.

At present at least one in six couples look for medical assistance to conceive and for half of them, the problem arises from poor sperm quality. Improper diet, lifestyle, exposure to unwanted chemicals and even wearing tight underwear can cause lower sperm count.

“PAWP is able to induce embryo development in human eggs in a fashion similar to the natural triggering of embryo development by the sperm cell during fertilization,” Dr Richard Oko, who led the study, said as quoted by The Daily Mail.

Presently most of the infertility treatments are performed by injecting a single sperm directly into an egg; Dr. Oko felt that supplementation of human sperm with PAWP protein could be used to improve the success rate of infertility treatments in coming years.

In 2012, a French study confirmed that sperm counts have been falling at an alarming rate up to 38 per cent in a decade where mostly diet and lifestyle should be blamed.

A separate study , carried out by researchers from the Azienda Ospedaliera Citta' Della Salute E Della Scienza Di Torino in Turin believed that eating seven almonds a day can improve sperm quality to a great extent.

They are conducting a trial with 100 men where one group will add seven almonds in their diet and the other group will cut down on saturated fat and will have increased intake of polyunsaturated fatty acids. Scientists believe both strategies will help to have better sperm count.

Apart from almonds even walnuts, peanuts and hazelnuts can help in improving sperm quality.

Almonds and walnuts boast amino acid arginine, which is known to increase sperm production. Peanuts are high in zinc that increases sperm count and motility.