Lambs Born Using Experimental IVF Activating Immature Eggs

Lambs were born using an experimental form of in vitro fertilization that turns immature eggs into viable ones, Semafor reported. The technique stimulates ovarian follicles that never begin to develop under normal conditions. Each menstrual cycle several egg-containing follicles approach maturity but most wither, typically leaving one egg.

Standard IVF boosts maturing follicles to retrieve several eggs but often produces limited results. The new method makes many more eggs available per cycle. It had worked in mice but had not succeeded in large mammals before these births.

Women with ovaries damaged by cancer treatment would be the main beneficiaries. The current fertility-restoration option freezes ovarian tissue before cancer treatment and re-transplants it afterward, which risks reintroducing malignant cells, New Scientist reported.