Life begins with a bang

28 April 2016 - 02:19 By ©The Daily Telegraph

Human life starts in a bright flash of light as a sperm meets an egg. The astonishing "fireworks" have been captured on film for the first time. An explosion of tiny sparks erupts from the egg at the moment of conception.Scientists had seen the phenomenon occur in other animals but it is the first time it has been shown in humans.And the size of the flash may determine the quality of the fertilised egg.Researchers at Northwestern University in Chicago noticed some eggs burned brighter than others, showing that they were more likely to produce a healthy baby.The discovery could help doctors pick the best-fertilised eggs to transfer during in vitro fertilisation."It was remarkable," said Professor Teresa Woodruff, one of the study's two authors."This means if you can look at the zinc spark at the time of fertilisation you will know immediately which eggs are the good ones to transfer in in vitro fertilisation."The bright flash occurs because when sperm enters an egg it triggers increased calcium, which releases zinc from the egg. As the zinc shoots out, it binds to small molecules that emit a fluorescence, which can be picked up by camera microscopes. ..

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