Lab Rats: Able-Bodied Semen

Synopsis

A series of four 30-minute programmes in which four volunteers undergo a range of physical and psychological experiments. Cut off from the outside world and confined to a laboratory for twenty-four hours, the participants surrender their minds and bodies in the name of scientific research, with every move closely monitored by scientists.

This programme examines the factors that affect male fertility and involves two of the scientists actually racing their sperm to see which is the fastest, fittest and strongest.
Under the guidance of fertility expert, Allan Pacey (University of Sheffield) the Lab Rats embark on a bizarre and sometimes humiliating journey. The number and quality of their sperm are measured and they endure a full physiological examination of their genitalia as well as undergoing an assessment of their erections. To prepare for the Sperm Race, the two subjects adopt different training routines to experiment with the effects of lifestyle on their sperm. They also agree to abstain from masturbation for different periods of time to discover the effect on the quality of their sperm. They discover the optimum time to save up semen to produce the strongest sperm.

The culmination of the experiement is the sperm race itself - filmed under a microscope inside two glass capillary tubes.

NB The four programmes from the series are only available on a combined DVD

Series

Lab Rats, Xso14 Series

Language

English

Country

Great Britain

Year of release

2004

Year of production

2004

Availability

Out of distribution

Notes

Broadcast on BBC3 on 10/8/2004

Subjects

Biology; Medical sciences

Keywords

fertility - human; physiology - human; scientific research; sperm; fertility - human male

Online availability

URI

http://www.ouwcb.co.uk/viewerdefault.asp?CompID=12327&Baudrate=0

Price

£34.99

Delivery

Download

Distribution Formats

Type

DVD

Format

Region 2 PAL

Price

£12.50 (series)

Availability

Sale

Duration/Size

30 minutes

Year

2011

Production Company

Name

Open University

Distributor

Name

Open University Worldwide

Web

http://www.ouw.co.uk External site opens in new window

Phone

+44 (0) 1908 274066

Address

Walton Hall
Milton Keynes
MK7 6AA

Notes

NB. As of May 2016 Open University Worldwide are no longer distributing DVDs. They have posted this message on their website: ‘Unfortunately Open University Worldwide Limited has decided that product sales are no longer viable given the reduced funding to Higher Education institutions and diminishing demand for the products we have traditionally stocked. At present the Open University Students Association (OUSA) will continue to sell the "Good Study Guide", and we are in discussion with other possible distributors to continue to make The Open University’s products available for purchase. As soon as we have any information on other channels of distribution we will update this notice’. Some products are still available via second hand dealers on Amazon.co.uk

Related

Name

Canny Store

Web

https://cannystore.com/ External site opens in new window

Phone

01789 207440

Address

The Mansley Centre
Timothy’s Bridge Road
Stratford upon Avon
CV37 9NQ