For the first time it is possible to see the starter of human fertilization in action. Highly realistic simulations created thanks to a supercomputer show the complex molecular interactions that allow the fusion between egg and sperm.
The result is published in Scientific Reports by researchers at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, in a study that lays the foundations for new non-hormonal contraceptives and new therapies against infertility. Thanks to the Piz Daint supercomputer of the Swiss National Supercomputing Center (CSCS), researchers simulated the behavior of the two key fertilization proteins.