Robert Geoffrey Edwards, for developing in vitro fertilization (IVF) in humans, receives this year's Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine
Robert Geoffrey Edwards, who developed in vitro fertilization (IVF) in humans, will receive this year's Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine. Human oocyte Image:wikimedia commons/Ekem The initially controversial technology has since produced more than 4 million babies worldwide to otherwise infertile parents. When Edwards, now professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, started his research on infertility in the 1950s, scientists had already successfully fertilized eggs from rabbits in test tubes and produced young. It didn't take much time for Edwards to realize that fertilization outside of the uterus could be a viable option for human couples who were having issues conceiving. While on the road to developing IVF, Edwards made myriad discoveries that have contributed to researchers' understanding of the maturation of the human egg cell. For example, he deciphered how different hormones control the development of the egg, as well as when the egg is most ...