Life Starts with A Flash of Light: Video of a Fertilized Human Egg
Many holy scriptures (like Bible1 and Quran2) refer to God as the originator of life and “light.” Researchers have now observed life starts with a small spark of light the moment a human egg is fertilized. This has been observed in other life forms and animals too. The flash of light is called a “zinc spark” because it is an explosion of zinc from an egg that can be seen under a microscope using a fluorescent probe.
According to the paper, egg activation (transition of a gamete into an embryo, including stages of meiosis, mitosis, degradation of maternal mRNA and pronuclear development) induces rises in intracellular calcium levels and also triggered the coordinated release of zinc into the extracellular space in a prominent “zinc spark.” After fertilization, chemical changes in the zinc vesicles form a barrier that prevents other sperm cells from entering the egg.
In animal studies, the size of the zinc sparks is a direct reflection of the egg's quality and ability to grow into a viable embryo. In humans, the findings are used to assess the viability of an in vitro fertilized (IVF) egg or embryo, but scientists have no idea what makes sparks fly between a sperm and an an egg!
Reductionist science helps humans study the biochemistry of what happens but understanding the chemistry (compatibility) between a man and a woman, and sperms and eggs, to form new life is a realm that needs the type of humility and holistic wisdom practiced by polymaths, philosophers, sages and prophets.
In “The Canon of Medicine" (Ghanoon fi Teb in Persian/Arabic), ancient polymath and physician Avicenna (10th century, from Persia, named Ibn Sina in local language) discusses some of the mysteries of life and conception, and how both the physical and spiritual (soul and mind) states of the couple making love will affect the quality and viability of the new life being formed at the moment of fertilization and even how the baby will look. He warns the novice but arrogant physicians not to mock his views (about the impact of human spirit and soul on the moment of creation) until they mature and start discovering some of God’s universal wisdom in directing life and creation.
You can read my article about Ibn Sina here.
As in John 1:4: “In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind.” or as in Psalm 36:9: “For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.”
“God (Allah) is the Light of the heavens and the earth.” Verse 35 of Surah An-Nur (Chapter of Light)