Overview
- An Oregon Health & Science University team used somatic cell nuclear transfer plus a new step dubbed mitomeiosis to convert nuclei from human skin cells into oocytes.
- The study produced 82 eggs that were fertilised; fewer than 9% developed to the blastocyst stage and all embryos showed chromosomal abnormalities.
- Authors describe the work as preliminary and estimate potential clinical use is many years away due to the need to reliably produce genetically normal eggs.
- The approach currently depends on donor eggs, raising practical limits on scalability and adding to ethical concerns tied to egg donation and cloning associations.
- If future refinements prove safe and effective, possible applications could include helping people who lack viable eggs and potentially enabling same‑sex couples to have genetically related children, though U.S. policy may restrict clinical trials involving embryo genetic manipulation.