"Scientists have made a discovery in piglets that could decrease the costs associated with in vitro fertilization in people.
Parents seeking to have children through IVF spend between $12,000 and $15,000 each session plus the cost of medications, which could average between $3,000 and $5,000.
Scientists were working with pigs to research stem cells and the mechanisms they use to proliferate, communicate, and grow in the body. During an attempt to improve how they grow the cells, researchers discovered a method that uses a special liquid medium that improves the success of IVF in pigs.
“It was a serendipitous discovery, really,” says R. Michael Roberts, professor of animal sciences at the University of Missouri. “Generally, there are multiple steps to producing viable embryos that we can then implant in pigs and cows involved in our research; however, it’s costly and sometimes yields very little return.
“We were seeking a way to do that more efficiently and stumbled upon a method that may have implications in human fertility clinics as well.”
In IVF involving pigs, scientists first extract oocytes, or eggs from female pigs as well as the “nurse” cells that surround them and place them in a chemical environment designed to mature the eggs. The eggs are then fertilized to create zygotes, or single-celled embryos that are allowed to develop for six days. These embryos are then transferred back into a female pig with the hope of achieving a successful pregnancy and healthy piglets..."
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Parents seeking to have children through IVF spend between $12,000 and $15,000 each session plus the cost of medications, which could average between $3,000 and $5,000.
Scientists were working with pigs to research stem cells and the mechanisms they use to proliferate, communicate, and grow in the body. During an attempt to improve how they grow the cells, researchers discovered a method that uses a special liquid medium that improves the success of IVF in pigs.
“It was a serendipitous discovery, really,” says R. Michael Roberts, professor of animal sciences at the University of Missouri. “Generally, there are multiple steps to producing viable embryos that we can then implant in pigs and cows involved in our research; however, it’s costly and sometimes yields very little return.
“We were seeking a way to do that more efficiently and stumbled upon a method that may have implications in human fertility clinics as well.”
In IVF involving pigs, scientists first extract oocytes, or eggs from female pigs as well as the “nurse” cells that surround them and place them in a chemical environment designed to mature the eggs. The eggs are then fertilized to create zygotes, or single-celled embryos that are allowed to develop for six days. These embryos are then transferred back into a female pig with the hope of achieving a successful pregnancy and healthy piglets..."
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