Women who are looking to conceive could now double their chances of doing so, thanks to a scientific breakthrough announced this year.
Researchers have discovered that ‘nobbles’ found on most eggs can be used to create embryos, giving women who are struggling to conceive an increased chance of doing so.
Nobbles are found on most eggs, and are made up of genetic material left behind when a cell divides.
And researchers have now found a way to combine this genetic information with a donor egg – with a removed nucleus – to create an egg that can then be successfully fertilised.
What this means is that women with only a small number of eggs to play with, could potentially double their egg stocks.
The research from Oregon Health and Science University is especially important for older women, who have a depleted number of eggs to play with.
However, the technique is likely to be controversial, as technically the baby will have DNA from three parents – the mum, dad, and the donor mother – who has given up her eggs for the genetic information to be placed in.
