When it comes to successful fertilization, zero gravity means zero game, a new study suggests. When looking at sperm and eggs in simulated microgravity, scientists found that this environment hampered sperm navigation, fertilization and embryo development, posing serious challenges for the future of space colonization.
This human, mouse and pig study, published Thursday (March 26) in the journal Communications Biology, revealed that sperm became disoriented, mouse eggs had fewer successful fertilizations, and pig embryos experienced developmental delays, all due to microgravity.
