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Sea urchin egg discovery could revolutionize fertility treatments worldwide!

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Early electrical responses to fertilization in sea urchin eggs
Vanni Taglietti

Paper Summary

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Sea urchin eggs respond to fertilization by going through two phases of electrical changes. The first phase, triggered by sperm, has multiple steps that depend on sperm concentration. The number of steps determines how many sperm interact with the egg. The second phase, caused by the egg's outer layer changing, prevents more than one sperm from fertilizing the egg. This second phase doesn't happen in immature eggs or mature eggs treated with nicotine.