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LiveScience
LiveScience
Ashley Hamer

Do sperm really race to the egg?

An illustration of sperm swimming towards an egg.

Egg fertilization is often described as an epic swim meet: Millions of sperm swim as fast as they can toward the egg until one — the fastest, strongest, healthiest sperm of them all — wins the race and wriggles into the egg, with the prize of passing its genes to future offspring.

But is this really how it happens? Do sperm really race to the egg?

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