Human egg cells which have been grown in a lab could be fertilised in a landmark experiment that would completely rewrite the rules of reproduction.
Scientists want to secure permission to fertilise the eggs, which have been produced from stem cells, to see whether reproduction this way is possible.
Researchers are working towards generating an infinite supply of human eggs which could allow older and infertile women to become mothers, the Independent newspaper reports.
Furthermore, some scientists have gone as far as to say the tests could uncover an âelixir of youthâ which would eliminate the menopause and allow older women to remain young and healthy, with the stem cell eggs replenishing their ovaries.Â
The teams from Edinburgh University and Harvard Medical School in the US are aiming to fertilise the eggs with human sperm, which would allow them to study them for the legal limit of 14 days, and they will not yet be transplanted into a human womb.
Edinburgh biologist Dr Evelyn Telfer told the newspaper: ‘Could the fertilisation take place this year? Yes, absolutely.’
‘If you can show you can get ovarian stem cells from the human ovary you then have the potential to do more for fertility preservation.’