A groundbreaking new discovery could mean that in the future babies are born without biological mothers.
While it might sound like the synopsis of a very dystopian film, it could one day become a reality.
This is because scientists have discovered a new way to create human eggs from skin cells, meaning that a baby could potentially be created by two men, without any DNA needed from a woman.
It also has the potential to help women struggling to conceive have biological children.
Advert
Speaking to the Daily Mail, Professor Richard Anderson, who is the deputy director of MRC Center for Reproductive Health at the University of Edinburgh, said: “Many women are unable to have a family because they have lost their eggs, which can occur for a range of reasons including after cancer treatment.”
However, despite this being a ‘major advance’, experts have stated that further research will need to be conducted before trials begin to make sure safety and efficacy are paramount.
In the study, it states: “The ability to generate new eggs would be a major advance. This study shows that the genetic material from skin cells can be used to generate an egg–like cell with the right number of chromosomes to be fertilised and develop into an early embryo.
“There will be very important safety concerns but this study is a step towards helping many women have their own genetic children.”
In the study, the team of researchers have discovered this new method, which they have named ‘mitomeiosis’.
So, what does that actually entail? The study explained that the process will mimic ‘natural cell division and cause one set of chromosomes to be discarded, leaving a functional gamete’.
The team were successful in producing 82 functional eggs during their tests, which were later taken to a lab where they were fertilized.
Out of these, around 9% of these developed into the blastocyst stage of embryo development, which is where it becomes a rapidly dividing fertilized egg that forms around five to six days after fertilization.
This is the stage just before implantation in the uterus but researchers did not continue the process beyond this point.
Professor Ying Cheong, who is a professor of reproductive medicine at the University of Southampton, said: “This breakthrough, called mitomeiosis, is an exciting proof of concept.
“In practice, clinicians are seeing more and more people who cannot use their own eggs, often because of age or medical conditions.
“While this is still very early laboratory work, in the future it could transform how we understand infertility and miscarriage, and perhaps one day open the door to creating egg or sperm-like cells for those who have no other options.”