Human sperm swim upstream 'in a shoal' (BBC News)

Human sperm cells are very good at swimming upstream against a strong current to reach their ultimate goal - the egg - scientists have discovered.

Rather than swim in a straight line, they spiral along to move to where the flow is slowest, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology team observed.

Their laboratory studies also hint that sperm may work together as a team rather than in competition.

Swimming as a shoal may boost the odds of fertilisation, the scientists say.

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