Kyoto, Japan -- Japanese researchers have succeeded in generating ova from artificially derived multipurpose stem cells and using the ova to produce mice offspring through in vitro fertilization for the first time in the world, they said in the online edition of U.S. magazine Science on Thursday.
The achievement by the team of researchers led by Kyoto University professor Michinori Saito is expected to contribute to the study of infertility treatment and the elucidation of biogenetic mechanisms. But it is feared the breakthrough could also pose ethical problems as it could lead to the creation of life by humans.