For the past four years, scientists at Oregon Health & Science University have been trying to write a new recipe for human reproduction. In 2022, the team led by boundary-breaking embryologist Shoukhrat Mitalipov reported the birth of three healthy mouse pups from eggs created in the lab with DNA from the skin cells of adult mice. But in a new paper, they disclosed that their attempt to try the technique with human cells has been mostly unsuccessful — at least so far.
In a research update, published Tuesday in Nature Communications, the group revealed that it has made some progress, including creating a process for reducing the number of chromosomes in a cell, dubbed “mitomeiosis” — a necessary step to avoid creating embryos with double the normal number of chromosomes. If the team overcomes the many remaining obstacles, the research could open new avenues for treating infertility, preventing heritable diseases, and allowing same-sex couples to have genetically related children. But the technique remains far from fully cooked.
