In a breakthrough that could eventually enable infertile individuals to become parents, scientists announced on Tuesday that they had successfully transformed human skin cells into eggs and fertilized them in a lab for the first time.
The US-led team of experts cautioned that the technique may not be accessible to prospective parents for years.
The proof-of-concept study, however, has the potential to transform the definition of infertility, which impacts one in six individuals globally, according to outside experts.
If successful, the in-vitro gametogenesis (IVG) method might enable genetic reproduction in older women or women who are egg-deficient for other reasons. Co-author Paula Amato of a recent research revealing the accomplishment,
