This could be a huge development, both scientifically and ethically. A report published in Nature Cell Biology reports that scientists have made mature eggs from ovarian stem cells, and then fertilized the eggs, resulting in live births. From the study (no link, 12 April 2009):
The idea that females of most mammalian species have lost the capacity for oocyte production at birth has been challenged recently by the finding that juvenile and adult mouse ovaries possess mitotically active germ cells6. However, the existence of female germline stem cells (FGSCs) in postnatal mammalian ovaries still remains a controversial issue among reproductive biologists and stem cell researchers. We have now established a neonatal mouse FGSC line, with normal karyotype and high telomerase activity, by immunomagnetic isolation and culture for more than 15 months. FGSCs from adult mice were isolated and cultured for more than 6 months. These FGSCs were infected with GFP virus and transplanted into ovaries of infertile mice. Transplanted cells underwent oogenesis and the mice produced offspring that had the GFP transgene. These findings contribute to basic research into oogenesis and stem cell self-renewal and open up new possibilities for use of FGSCs in biotechnology and medicine.
Translation: If this is also true of human women—a big if—it could lead to a technique to obtain millions of eggs. This in turn, would make cloning research more doable, with scientists potentially making thousands and thousands of cloned human embryos for use and destruction in research, meaning that all the brave new world dreams of the most radical bioethicists and bio-scientists about learning how to genetically engineer the human race, engage in fetal farming, and allow reproductive cloning could come true. And given that we have demonstrated almost no willingness to put any meaningful ethical parameters around currently doable research, it strikes me that this breakthrough could result in a free fall off a vertical moral cliff.
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