During intercourse, sperm are released into the vagina near the cervix, swim through the uterus and travel up the fallopian tubes. Sperm are composed of 3 parts: a head, a middle section, and a tail. The tail propels the sperm, which is powered by energy cells stored in the middle section. The head of the sperm contains the man's genetic material and an enzyme-filled cap needed to help the sperm penetrate through the outer membrane of the egg.

As an egg released by an ovary travels through a fallopian tube, it may encounter hundreds of sperm that have survived to reach this point in their journey. Eventually, one sperm may succeed in breaking through the egg's outer membrane.

After penetrating the egg's outer membrane, the sperm releases its nucleus, which unites with the nucleus from the egg. Fertilization or conception occurs when the sperm fuses with the egg to form a fertilized egg (zygote).

Review Date: 09/16/2008

Dan Sacks MD, FACOG, Obstetrics & Gynecology in Private Practice, West Palm Beach, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

Click a circle in the "Navigation" box to travel to a particular section of the female reproductive system. At each section, select the "Click here to play animation" to see an action occur that leads to the successful conception of a fertilized egg.

Review Date: 09/12/2011

Linda J. Vorvick, MD, Medical Director, MEDEX Northwest Division of Physician Assistant Studies, University of Washington, School of Medicine; Susan Storck, MD, FACOG, Chief, Eastside Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound, Bellevue, Washington; Clinical Teaching Faculty, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of Washington School of Medicine. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

During sexual intercourse, sperm are released into the vagina near the cervix, which is the entrance to the uterus. The sperm travel through the cervix, into uterus and up the fallopian tubes.

After being release from an ovary, the egg cell moves through the fallopian tube by tiny cilia that line the tube's walls. The egg cell only survives for approximately 24 hours after ovulation. Of the millions of sperm that are released into the naturally acid environment of the woman's reproductive tract, relatively few will survive to encounter the egg cell.

When one of the sperm cells finally succeeds in breaking through the egg cell's outer membrane, the egg cell forms a protective barrier preventing other sperm cells from entering. This ensures that only one sperm cell fertilizes the egg cell.

Next, the sperm cell releases its nucleus containing the man's chromosomes. After several hours, it unites with the nucleus of the egg cell, which contains the woman's chromosomes. When the two nuclei fuse, their genetic material combines together to create a fertilized egg cell which is called a zygote.

Review Date: 09/16/2008

Dan Sacks MD, FACOG, Obstetrics & Gynecology in Private Practice, West Palm Beach, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

Millions of sperm are released during a single ejaculation. Their tails propel on their journey to encounter the single egg cell. Of the millions of sperm, only a few will survive to reach the egg and just one will penetrate the egg cell's wall to combine it's genetic material with that of the egg in the process called fertilization. If during the first 13 days of cell division, the fertilized egg cell, or zygote, divides into 2 zygotes, identical twins will form. Each developing embryo contains the same genetic material as the other.

Review Date: 09/16/2008

Dan Sacks MD, FACOG, Obstetrics & Gynecology in Private Practice, West Palm Beach, FL. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

the lyrics go

Somebody once told me the world is gonna roll me
I ain't the sharpest tool in the shed
She was looking kind of dumb with her finger and her thumb
In the shape of an "L" on her forehead

Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rule and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb

So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow

[Chorus:]
Hey now you're an All Star get your game on, go play
Hey now you're a Rock Star get the show on get paid
And all that glitters is gold
Only shooting stars break the mold

It's a cool place and they say it gets colder
You're bundled up now but wait 'til you get older
But the meteor men beg to differ
Judging by the hole in the satellite picture

The ice we skate is getting pretty thin
The waters getting warm so you might as well swim
My world's on fire how about yours
That's the way I like it and I never get bored

[Repeat Chorus 2x]

Somebody once asked could I spare some change for gas
I need to get myself away from this place
I said yep what a concept
I could use a little fuel myself
And we could all use a little change
Well the years start coming and they don't stop coming
Back to the rule and I hit the ground running
Didn't make sense not to live for fun
Your brain gets smart but your head gets dumb
So much to do so much to see
So what's wrong with taking the back streets
You'll never know if you don't go
You'll never shine if you don't glow

I will now explain the problem with this statement.

I will not explain the anthropic principle as such, but I will refer to its general ideas.

There are two main ideas to consider. One suggests that humans can exist because everything that was a prerequisite to their existence had already arisen (a natural progression from the formation of atoms to the formation of solar systems to the abiogenesis of the Precambrian to the continuous evolution after that). The second idea states that humans exist because the prerequisites had been chosen and carefully put into place with the express purpose of initiating man's existence.

Notice the second one forces humans to exist because of the 'purpose' behind the arrangement of the molecules before them. In other words the second's atoms were there for the future existence that resulted from them. On the other hand the first one shows that humans did not have to arrive at all but were perfectly capable of doing so as a result of the state of the universe that exists; the universe did not preclude or disallow human existence. The molecules and their arrangement throughout the universe prior to man were not there for man. The first idea simply describes the existence of particles and the theorized path of the universe before man. The second idea invokes the existence of a guide to prepare these particles for their accumulation into man.

There is evidence for all the particles and the universe. The first idea seems reasonable then. Humans developed with the particles that surrounded them and that comprised them and had preexisted them. There is no evidence for an intelligent planner that has the particles all meticulously aligned for the creation of man. There is no evidence for purpose behind the particles. The second idea is not reasonable then as it invokes things for which there is no evidence. It can therefore be imagined but not proven. It can be known that humans came about from the route the universe has taken over the course of its existence. So all considerations have to go into those particles that make up the universe.

Nothing else can be brought into the story unless there is evidence for that something else. The reason for this is to be sure that you are heading down a path of discovery yielding a story that is likely to be true. Without evidence a story may or may not be true. But you can be sure it is more likely to be true the more evidence you have. With zero evidence, a story is just as likely as any other.

• Belief of any sort is based on faith. If you have true faith there is a God and it gives you comfort and helps guide you in your life, then so be it.

I don't even think its God actually being real that matters, just the belief in the fact it could be real that's important to humans. "God" takes our loved ones when they die. (I do mean whatever god people believe in not just the one) "God" helps the good and punishes the bad, and then forgives the bad. "God" is always there when you need it. "God" is the reason some people live. "God" listens to you. "God" defines right and wrong. "God" loves you.

So far there is no contact with any life from other planets, so we feel very alone. I do wonder if there was life from other planets if God would, in time, become less needed, due to the fact that we would no longer be all alone.

If people didn't believe in some form of higher being, the mass majority of people would question what they are living for; society would likely break down. Again "God" loves you; if god is always there to love you , no matter how alone you are, you don't feel it. There may well be mass panic in the realization that you are alone, that god doesn't love you, or no one loves you. Mass hysteria in the realization that life will end, you will die, those you love will die, and none of you will be looked after, no heaven where God lives and will take you to look after you, no reincarnation to see your loved ones in a new spiritual body your just dead, nothing.

Humans need to have a leader. God is the ultimate leader; it tells you what to do in any given situation when you need the advice.

These are just some of the things I can think of that the belief in God makes a difference to. and as always its just my opinion and my thoughts. Doesn't make any of it true!!

In reply to their question God told Moses to remain awake for three days and nights and at the end of that time to hold two glass bottles in his hands (in each hand one bottle).

He did so, and, overcome with drowsiness (he fall asleep), smashed the one against the other and the bottles broke into pieces.

Tell your people, said Allah, that I hold in one hand the seven heavens and in the other the worlds; if my eyes should slumber, verily the universe would smash as did Moses' bottles. (note of mine: And if God would not be here, the universe would also not be here)"

Allah has given him an example.

---This doesn't really apply to my personal beliefs completely, being a Christian, but I think it offers as a good general statement in response to the question.

A Direct Answer to the Question:

The questioner here asks only if it makes a difference if there is or isn't a God. That question begs a simple answer. If there were no God, there would be no after-life, no meaning to who you are, what you do, what happens to you, or whether we live or die. Life without Him is meaningless. It is vain chance, unbound by any law. Only self-gratification matters, personal needs - no one else need be considered, because anything outside the self is valueless and meaningless.

Does that sound like the kind of universe in which we live?

Knowing there is a God means you are here not by accident but by design. God has a plan for you, you matter. He made you for a reason. This life, whatever it may bring, is in His control. There is a purpose, whether you recognize it or not. Ask and ye shall receive, seek and ye shall find, knock and it will be made open to you.

Direct Response to the Preceding 'Answer'

It should be noted that the preceding was made with exceptional bias towards atheistic viewpoints and makes claims about those views that the holders themselves do not espouse. A lack of belief in a deity does not exlude the possibility of an afterlife, nor does it exclude the possibility of finding meaning in life. Many faiths have atheisitc variations, with Buddhism being a noteworthy example (as it focuses on the concept of escaping a cyclical afterlife in the form of reincarnation, while at the same time various sects will often deny the existence of deities). Similarly, most with atheistic beliefs hold similar moral systems as those with theistic beliefs, to the point that many honestly contend that atheism is a superior source for true morality than theistic justifications, based on the logic that, as they would phrase it, "if you do something only because your god(s) told you to, you do so out of blind faith rather than doing so because it's right or wrong". Of course, that logic is subjective and should be taken as much at face value as most claims of "our faith is superior to yours because of 'x'" but does nicely highlight the fact that the people in question believe themselves to be at least as moral as their theistic counterparts. The concept of hedonism plays no more part in atheism as a belief than it does in chirstianity, and many would in fact be insulted by the slanderous insinuation.

Yes it makes a difference.If there wasn;t a god you and i wouldn't be alive.think about we come from somewhere we did just pop up from somewhere.

It makes no difference whatever whether there is or is not a God. The reason is because our speculation on this matter will have no bearing at all on the underlying reality or how that reality impacts us. People of faith may find this conclusion distasteful or offensive, but many things proceed from it. From the standard Christian theology, belief results from faith, and that faith is from God alone; the fallen have utterly no way of obtaining faith by their own means. So if indeed there is a God and this God has given faith to the faithful, all is well with the faithful and there is no need to speculate. The faithful are those who receive mercy, if God exists, and no power but his can add to or remove from the list of the faithful.

Since those without faith (because it has been withheld from them by God, if he exists) have utterly no way of obtaining it, demanding it, stealing it or getting it by any means, then the question of God's existence, even if he does exist, is less than meaningless to them. One cannot ask for saving faith and actually obtain it unless faith is first given; it is purely the mercy and graciousness of God, if he exists, that allows for faith to be given and exercized. So those without faith are those to whom justice will be meted out, and there is no need to speculate, even if God exists. If God exists, no one will be on the list of the faithless to God's surprise; no one is coming off that list of his own will, and no one will be on it whom God has chosen. If a non-believer then believes that he believes, perhaps he moves to the other list. It is also possible that, if God exists, many who claim belief have done so out of their insufficient human faith, and not the requisite 'saving' faith. What does it matter? The person either goes to the other list or he does not, and there is no need to speculate.

If it turns out that God does not exist, then all the prayer, suffering, sacrifice and sacrament will be to no avail; we will not conjure up a god where there is none. There will be evening and morning, we will all (most of us) awaken and continue to live, and there is no need to speculate.