Scientists turn human skin cells into fertilizable eggs for first time

PARIS — Scientists said Wednesday they have turned human skin cells into eggs and fertilized them with sperm in the lab for the first time — a breakthrough that is hoped to one day let infertile people have children.

The technology is still years away from potentially becoming available to aspiring parents, the U.S.-led team of scientists warned.

But outside experts said the proof-of-concept research could eventually change the meaning of infertility, which affects one in six people worldwide.

If successful, the technology called in-vitro gametogenesis (IVG) would allow older women or women who lack eggs for other reasons to genetically reproduce, Paula Amato, the co-author of a new study announcing the achievement, told AFP.

“It also would allow same-sex couples to have a child geneti