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EP45: Sperm Capacitation: Intelligent Motion with Dr. Meisam Zaferani

The Future Conceived

The Future Conceived
EP45: Sperm Capacitation: Intelligent Motion with Dr. Meisam Zaferani
Oct 14, 2025 Episode 45
SSR Podcast

This episode, the conclusion of our mini-series on sperm capacitation, features physicist Dr. Meisam Zaferani discussing sperm motility through the lens of search theory and active matter physics. Dr. Zaferani explains how the sperm, which he calls an "autonomous natural robot," overcomes the massive challenges of movement at the microscopic scale, where movement is dominated by fluid viscosity rather than inertia. To maximize their chance of reaching the egg, sperm constantly adapt their swimming strategies—a process physically evident as hyperactivation—to the geometrically complex and viscoelastic environment of the female reproductive tract.