This is a good news/tragic news case.
The incredible good news is that scientists have discovered—and photographed—that human life begins with a flash of light.
Tragically, that reality will be used to destroy embryos that don’t shine as brightly.
The flash occurs because when the sperm enters an egg it leads to a surge of calcium which triggers a release of zinc from the egg. As the zinc shoots out, it binds to small molecules which emit a fluorescence that can be picked up by camera microscopes.
“Aside from the scientific explanation, this reminds me that God is the light of the world and the author of all life,” said GRTL President Ricardo Davis. “It’s a truly amazing example of the fact that human life begins at conception.”
A video of the discovery is available here.
Like many scientific discoveries, however, there is a dark side.
Researchers at Northwestern University said how bright the flash is can be used to determine the quality of the fertilized egg. They noticed that some of the eggs burn brighter than others, allegedly showing they are more likely to produce a healthier baby.
Professor Teresa Woodruff, one of the study’s two senior authors and an expert in ovarian biology, called the discovery “remarkable.”
“This means if you can look at the zinc spark at the time of fertilization, you will know immediately which eggs are the good ones to transfer in in vitro fertilization,” Woodruff told the United Kingdom’s Telegraph.
“It’s a way of sorting egg quality in a way we’ve never been able to access before. All of biology starts at the time of fertilization, yet we know next to nothing about the events that occur in the human,” Woodruff added.
Co-author Dr. Eve Feinberg called the discovery “transformative,” saying: “If we have the ability to see what is a good egg and what’s not, it will help us know which embryo to transfer, avoid a lot of heartache and achieve pregnancy much more quickly.”
Sadly, they don’t mention the silent heartache of the living embryos that will be destroyed because their light was not bright enough.
“Instead of honoring God, this discovery will be used to exacerbate an evil that already exists in the fertility industry—destroying human embryos, babies” Davis said. “It’s another example of using science for evil.”
GRTL does not oppose In Vitro Fertilization as long as embryos – human babies – are not destroyed in the process. Only enough should be created to be implanted during a single cycle.
Source: telegraph.com.uk.