THE birth of Louise Brown, the first child to spring from an egg fertilised outside the body, caused a sensation in 1978. Fertility experts hailed it as a breakthrough while critics attacked IVF as immoral and dangerous. Now, a quarter of a century later, we may be witnessing the start of another revolution in assisted reproduction that will be no less controversial. Last week, researchers in the US reported that they had transformed mouse embryonic stem cells into mature eggs in the lab, and a Japanese team has produced sperm in a similar way (see “The next IVF revolution?”).…
To continue reading, today with our introductory offers
Advertisement
More from ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ
Explore the latest news, articles and features
Popular articles
Trending ¿ìè¶ÌÊÓÆµ articles
1
The best new science-fiction books of June 2026
2
Start-ups are racing to revolutionise mathematics with AI
3
Pancreatic cancer halted by virus injection in three patients
4
Does gravity create reality? A shocking path to a theory of everything
5
Glaciers in the 'roof of the world' have suddenly started melting
6
How a radical new view of life could reveal its origin – and aliens
7
Aim high but don't shoot for the moon, mathematicians advise
8
Embryos made without sperm or eggs reveal why many pregnancies fail
9
We may finally know why gold stays so shiny
10
Photons behave very strangely if you try to cut them



