Fruit fly sperm nearly as long as the body — study reveals how they stay untangled

Male Drosophila melanogaster fruit flies produce sperm cells nearly two millimetres long — close to the length of their entire body — and pack thousands of them into much smaller storage organs. A new study reveals the mechanism that allows these unusually long cells to move in an orderly fashion without tangling. The findings shed new light on insect reproductive biology and evolution.