The majority of fertilized eggs die and are resorbed into the body. ZEISS Microscopy/Flickr, CC BY-SA As an evolutionary biologist whose career has focused on how embryos develop in a wide variety of ...

When sperm meets egg, the start of life is not quiet. Under a special microscope, researchers have watched a tiny light show at fertilization. They see a microscopic flash at fertilization, a burst of ...

Multiple genetic changes can occur before or early after conception, a new study describes. The researchers looked at a type of genetic change called copy number variants, which refers to the number ...

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 ...