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Old 12-17-2004, 06:09 PM   #12
Skunks
I thought I changed this.
 
Join Date: Nov 2002
Location: western nowhere, ny
Posts: 412
Here's my attempt at a line by line translation of <a href="http://de.news.yahoo.com/041207/3/4bumv.html"">the corresponding article</a>. Some parts might be a little fuzzy, because I'm not much of a biologist, and I took some liberties with the English diction:

<b>How the first sperm at the egg cell blocks competition</b>

US researchers have solved the puzzle of why eggcells are fertilized by just one spermcell. A key enzyme takes care of it, by making the cell wall (Zellhülle -- I like 'cyto-wrapper' better) impervious for all subsequent sperm.

When a sperm enters, the enzyme Udx1, escharotic hydrogen peroxide, is produced. This substance causes the eggwhites and the cell wall to jointly coalesce into a firm protective coating, says Brown University. The process takes only five minutes.

Julian Wong (heh, heh) and his team have attained their insights by experimenting with sea urchin egg cells. Indeed, researchers have known for a while that hydrogen peroxide plays a big roll in the construction of a protective coating. But up until now it was unclear how the substance was produced or controlled. The researcher presented his finding in a trade journal.



I'm really not clear where the pig comes into it at all.
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