I am going to explain the everyday importance of a tiny, motile cell organelle and just how this can soon impact your birth control routine. Just bear with me during the boring stuff; I promise it gets better.

Do you know what flagella are? They are the little projections from a cell that look like antennae. In reality, flagella (the words flagella and cilia are basically interchangeable except for minute details) deal with cell motility or movement. Flagella can work in two main ways.

First, a flagellum can propel a cell through a liquid, basically allowing a cell to swim. The easiest way to think of this is to think of how a sperm propels itself to reach an egg to fertilize. Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (the adorable green cell shown above) is a species of green algae that uses two flagella to do a breaststroke, which is pretty adorable.

Next, flagella can push solution past the cell. Cells like this can be found your respiratory system. These cells prevent dust, smog, and other tiny things that you inhale from reaching the inside of your lungs. Problems with the flagella in the respiratory system cause a buildup of mucus that can’t be removed, and can cause Bronchitis.

Some flagella that are paralyzed can’t push liquid past a cell, or propel a cell through a liquid. You may be wondering why these would be important, but they serve a very important purpose in your body. These immobile flagella are called primary cilia and act as cellular antennas. They work in your kidneys to sense the flow of liquid.

Other times when flagella are paralyzed, this is harmful. In both males and females, immobile flagella can cause infertility. For example, in a female reproductive tract, if the cells can’t push liquid past them, then they cannot aid a sperm reaching an egg.

However, a form of male birth control may become available in the future that uses the paralyzation of sperm flagella to prevent pregnancies. For now, this has only been used on mice but has proved effective. Upon the receipt of a drug, male mice have become unable to fertilize ovum due to abnormal sperm development. Several days after stopping administering the drug to male mice, they have been able to produce mobile sperm that can produce young.

This has not yet been tested on humans but if this is effective and safe for human use, this drug can change the birth control market drastically.

Until now, it has been up to the woman to take drugs to prevent pregnancies, or for a male or female condom to be used. Giving males the opportunity to prevent pregnancies through the internal uptake of a drug can give males more control and independence as well as responsibility.

Now do you think flagella are important?