A Flash of Light Occurs at Moment of Conception
BY: JAMES BARRETT
Scientists have discovered that a "breathtaking" flash of light occurs at the moment of conception.
For the first time, researchers from Northwestern University have now demonstrated that when
a human sperm first meets an egg a bright zinc spark can be seen, not only a "remarkable"
phenomenon but also one that might be a game-changer for in vitro fertilization.
"It was remarkable," said the study's co-author Professor Teresa Woodruff. "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. All of biology starts at the time of fertilization,
yet we know next to nothing about the events that occur in the human."
"All of biology starts at the time of fertilization, yet we know next to nothing about the events
that occur in the human."
PROFESSOR TERESA WOODRUFF
The researchers say that the size of the flash of light provides valuable information about
the health of the eggs. The brighter the flash, the more viable the egg, and thus the better
option for in vitro fertilization, which has a high failure rate (around 50%) and often
involves clinicians using imprecise means of testing or simply choosing whichever eggs
they think appear to be most viable.
"This means if you can look at the zinc spark at the time of fertilization, you will know
immediately which eggs are the good ones to transfer in in vitro fertilization," explained
Woodruff. "It's a way of sorting egg quality in a way we�ve never been able to assess
before."
"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," said co-author
Dr Eve Feinberg. "There are no tools currently available that tell us if it�s a good quality
egg. 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."
Below is a frame-by-frame showing the flash of light when the sperm first enters
the egg:
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