Human skin cells turn into fertilisable eggs for first time

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

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The technology is still years away from potentially becoming available to aspiring parents, the US-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, said Paula Amato, the coauthor of a new study announcing the achievement.

"It also would allow same-sex couples to have a child genetically related to both partners," said Amato, a researcher at the Oregon Health and Science University in the US.