The 8 secrets of the egg
1. The egg is size XXXL!
The human egg is gigantic in size compared to all other cells in the human body. Its diameter is about 100 microns (100 millionths of a meter!) — about the thickness of a hair! Under the right conditions, you could even see it with the naked eye. The fact is that eggs are about 4 times larger than skin cells and about 20 times larger than sperm!
2. The egg has a long history
The female body begins to form eggs at the age of 9 weeks. But not nine weeks after birth, but nine weeks after conception! This means that the egg that created you was inside your mother when she was inside your grandmother!!!
By the fifth month of pregnancy, the future girl already has a stock of 7,000,000 eggs. There are 1,000,000 — 1,500,000 left until birth. Of that number, only a third will be good enough to qualify for the time the maiden becomes a teenager.
3. The egg is precious
Only about 400 to 500 eggs out of a million eventually manage to make it all the way to maturity. Together with each mature egg, dozens of others fall off. This death of immature eggs occurs not only on the day of ovulation, but daily and hourly. However, in their place the girl does not form new ones - the decrease in their number is irreversible, which is why each of them is so valuable.
4. The egg cell is aging
Most of the cells in our body “regenerate” or are cleared and replaced with younger, healthier ones throughout our lives. However, with each passing year of a woman's life, the eggs not only remain less and less, but also age. No, they do not wrinkle or lose their shine! From year to year it becomes more and more difficult to be awakened under the command of sex hormones. What's more, time affects the precious genetic material they carry, and an increasing number of them end up with damaged chromosomes. That is why cases of infertility, miscarriage and genetic diseases such as Down syndrome increase so dramatically with the age of the mother.Because of this, alas, the eggs become unfit to give the beginning of a future life.
5. Human eggs are full of instructions
Unlike birds or reptiles, whose eggs are full of food, mammals do not develop on their own - they get a soft uterus and placenta with a lot of nutrients. So what fills this huge egg?
Here's what we know: human eggs contain a lot of RNA, which carries genetic code from the nucleus of the cell, preventing DNA from leaving the nucleus. The RNA in the egg has several tasks: it helps the egg nucleus to fuse with the sperm during fertilization, it guides the fertilized eggs through the initial cell divisions, and it tells the cells in the developing embryo — which are the same, at first — how to specialize and what kind of cell they should become.
The fact is that eggs need a lot of energy, especially after they are fertilized and begin to divide and develop. Human eggs contain many mitochondria, figuratively speaking they are like the powerhouse of the cell — and convert oxygen and nutrients into chemical energy.
6. The egg does not complain
We've all heard of the hot flashes and insomnia, discomfort and cycle disruptions that come with menopause — the time when the ovaries stop working. The decline and deterioration of egg quality, however, begins more than a decade earlier, and without any external signs and symptoms. Often, women who want to become pregnant, when these processes have already begun, are surprised that their ovarian reserve is greatly deteriorated, because they have not had any complaints.
7. The egg is vulnerable
In addition to its greatest enemy, time, the egg has other enemies. These are ionizing radiations, as well as numerous substances, part of our daily lives. The egg does not like to smoke and drink coffee and alcohol. The egg is painted with lead, mercury and organic solvents and chemicals. The egg is confused by synthetic hormones, such as are often found in meat or plastic items at home. The egg cell is terrified of pesticides. In the 21st century, the list is perhaps three times longer than that in the 20th century, alas. The closer to nature we live, the fewer enemies the precious eggs will face.
8. The ovum is monogamous
It may not be fashionable, it may even be old-fashioned, but it is a fact! Each mature egg has its own crown and a constriction of helper cells that make it even more inaccessible than you think. However, through this “guard” can pass a “bridegroom” —the most skillful, the best, the fastest, the most potential. If He can pass through all the defenses and overcome the last limit, He becomes the One. Already in the same millisecond in which it merges with it, the egg launches an immediate program to block all other candidates. Romantic, isn't it?