Human eggs fully grown in lab for first time

LONDON - Scientists have succeeded for the first time in growing human eggs in a laboratory from the earliest stages in ovarian tissue all the way to full maturity - a scientific step that had previously been taken in mice. The eggs were grown to the point at which they could be fertilized.

Publishing their result in the journal Molecular Human Reproduction on Friday, scientists from the United Kingdom and the United States said it could one day help in developing regenerative medicine therapies and new infertility treatments.

In previous studies, scientists had developed mouse eggs in a laboratory to the stage where they produced live offspring, and had also matured human eggs from a relatively late stage of development.