Despite significant biomedical advances in recent decades, the very earliest events of human development¬--those that occur during a critical window just after fertilization--have remained an ...

The development of every animal in the history of the world began with a simple step: the fusion of a spermatozoon with an oocyte. Despite the ubiquity of this process, the actual mechanisms through ...

An international study led by the National Institute for Agricultural and Food Research and Technology of the Spanish National Research Council (INIA-CSIC), with participation from the University of ...

SAN FRANCISCO -- A cellular signaling system that responds to THC, the active substance in marijuana, as well as to anandamide, a cannabinoid-like molecule normally produced in the body, may regulate ...

Human bodies have to be built from a single egg cell that's fertilized by a sperm cell. Many rounds of cell division occur as the body is developing, and it seems that there are plenty of chances for ...

The formation of a zygote via the fusion of an egg and sperm cell and its subsequent asymmetric division herald the start of the plant’s life cycle. Zygotic genome activation (ZGA) is thought to occur ...

Scientists based at The Rockefeller University have created an experimental system that models the implantation of a human embryo. The new system, an adaptation of one used to recapitulate the ...

A stunning explosion of zinc fireworks occurs when a human egg is activated by a sperm enzyme, and the size of these 'sparks' is a direct measure of the quality of the egg and its ability to develop ...

When couples experience infertility, medical science presents possible solutions for a potentially successful conception of a baby. Infertility issues can be addressed with Human Chorionic ...