IVF eggs from leftover DNA

• Autores: Jessica Hamzelou
• Localización: New scientist, ISSN 0262-4079, Nº. 3100, 2016, pág. 12
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • Now Shoukhrat Mitalipov at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland and his colleagues have found a way to increase the number of eggs. In the two cell divisions that create an egg, three other tiny cells are also produced. These are known as polar bodies and eventually degrade, but they each contain all the DNA a normal developing egg would have, prompting Mitalipov to wonder whether this could be put to good use. His team collected eggs from 11 volunteers using the standard IVF approach, which involves collecting eggs just as the first polar body forms. Instead of discarding the polar body, the researchers placed it alongside an egg donated by another individual that had its DNA-containing nucleus removed. These eggs were able to incorporate the polar body, which seemed to replace the missing nucleus.