Scientists Just Captured Something Extraordinary At The Moment Of Fertilization

Health and Medicine





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The newly discovered human "zinc spark". Northwestern News/Duncan et al. 2016

Sparks really do fly when the magic happens. At the exact moment a sperm penetrates an egg, the latter releases billions of zinc atoms from its surface which spark off. Using fluorescent microscopy, these sparks emit a light, which can then be filmed. The discovery that human eggs cells undergo this process could lead to new ways for doctors to identify viable eggs for in vitro fertilization (IVF).