For the first time, researchers have witnessed the exact moment
conception occurs— and have recorded the ensuing explosion of
sparks that form when sperm meets an egg. The Telegraph reported
that scientists had previously captured the moment in animals,
but this is the first time it’s been recorded in humans.
“It was remarkable,” senior co-author Teresa Woodruff, director
of the Women’s Health Research Institute and chief of the
Division of Obstetrics and Gynecology-Fertility Preservation at
Northwestern University, told the Telegraph. “We discovered the
zinc spark just five years ago in the mouse, and to see the zinc
radiate out in a burst from each human egg was breathtaking.”
Woodruff told the Telegraph that by looking at the size and
quality of the zinc spark, researchers could know immediately
which eggs are ideal to transfer during in vitro fertilization
(IVF). Researchers noted that some of the eggs burn brighter
than others, which may indicate they are more likely to develop
into a healthy fetus.
“It’s a way of sorting egg quality in a way we’ve never been
able to assess before,” she told the Telegraph. “All biology
starts at the time of fertilization, yet we know next to nothing
about the events that occur in the human.”
Researchers who analyzed a video of nine human eggs touching the
sperm observed that two flashed brighter than the others—
insight that could provide an important tool for doctors trying
to determine which fertilized eggs to choose during in vitro.
“This is an important discovery because it may give us a non-
invasive and easily visible way to assess the health of an egg
and eventually an embryo before implantation,” study co-author
Dr. Eve Feinberg told the Telegraph.
“There are no tools currently available that tell us if it’s a
good-quality egg,” she told the news website. “Often, we don’t
know whether the egg or embryo is truly viable until we see if a
pregnancy ensues— that’s the reason this is so transformative.
If we have the ability up front to see what is a good egg and
what’s not, it will help us know which embryo to transfer, avoid
a lot of heartache, and achieve pregnancy much more quickly.”
The study was published Tuesday in the journal Scientific
Reports.
http://www.foxnews.com/health/2016/04/26/scientists-witness-
flash-light-during-conception-say-discovery-could-aid-
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