In a groundbreaking experiment, scientists have successfully turned human skin cells into egg cells — a first step toward new fertility treatments.
Here’s how it worked:
Researchers replaced the DNA in a donated egg with DNA from a skin cell, then triggered it to behave like a natural egg. Some of these lab-made eggs were fertilized and grew briefly into early embryos.
While only a few developed properly — most had genetic errors — the experiment shows it’s possible to create human eggs without ovaries.
If perfected, this could help people who can’t produce eggs naturally. But scientists warn it’s still many years away and raises major ethical questions about how far reproduction science should go.
If creating life from skin cells becomes possible, who should decide how and when this technology is used?
MBH/AB