| Date |
Event |
People |
Places |
The tubes were described by Garbielle Falloppio, an anatomist and physician, based on his study of reproductive organs in both sexes. 1561-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1561 | | Fallopian tubes described for first timeFallopio | University of Padua |
Gabriele Falloppio described the Fallopian tubes appearing like a trumpet. 1566-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1566 | | Fallopian tubes discovered to extend from the uterus to the ovariesFallopio | University of Padua |
The suggestion was made by the English physician William Harvey in his book Exercitationes de generatione animalium (On Animal Generation). He put forward his idea based on his observations with hens' eggs. 1651-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1651 | | First time idea put forward that all organisms start life in an eggHarvey | |
Jan Swammerdam, a Dutch biologist and microscopist, submitted illustrations of the uterus and ovary to the Royal Society. 1671-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1671 | | First description of the uterus and ovariesSwammerdam | |
The work was done by Reinier de Graaf, a Dutch physician and anatomist1672-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1672 | | First time Fallopian tubes shown to carry products of the ovary to the uterusde Graaf | |
Leeuwenhoek wrote to the Royal Society reporting his discovery of microscopic tadpole-like creatures in a sample of seminal fluid that he collected from his wife after making love to her.
Leeuwenhoek subsequently found sperm in many other animals and determined that they were made by the testes. 1677-11-01T00:00:00+0000| 1 Nov 1677 | | First time living sperm observedLeeuwenhoek | |
Known as the father of modern physiology, von Haller was a physician who discovered the autonomous nature of the heart and the mechanism of respiration. He also discovered that bile helps digest fats and made many contributions to understanding the distinction between nerve impulses and muscle contractions. During his time he put forward different theories about the nature of embryological development, one of which proposed that the new individual exists within the maternal egg prior to conception. He also put forward an accurate model of fetal growth during gestation, showing that the growth was faster at the beginning than later on. 1708-10-16T00:00:00+0000| 16 Oct 1708 | | Albrecht von Haller was born in Bern, Switzerlandvon Haller | University of Gottingen |
Lazzaro Spallanzani challenged the theory by demonstrating that micro-organisms did not appear in meat broth sealed inside tightly closed jars that had been boiled for half an hour.1768-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1768 | | Theory of spontaneous generation shown to be incorrectSpallanzani | University of Padua |
The Scottish surgeon and scientist John Hunter advised a cloth merchant with severe hypospadias to collect semen that escaped during coitus in a warmed syringe and the to inject that sample into the vagina. Hunter wrote up the case in 1790.1770-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1770 | | First report of artificial insemination in a humanHunter | St George's Hospital |
Lazarro Spallanzi found that it was possible to prevent fertilisation of frogs' eggs during the frog mating season by covering the hindquarters of male frogs with watertight waxed taffeta breeches. Following this he demonstrated that it was possible to transform virgin eggs removed from the bellies of female frogs into tadpoles by exposing them to sperm collected from the male sperm when they
pseudo-coupled with the females. 1770-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1770 | | Fertilising function of sperm revealedSpallanzani | University of Padua |
Known as the father of modern physiology, von Haller was a Swiss physician who discovered the autonomous nature of the heart and the mechanism of respiration. He also discovered that bile helps digest fats and made many contributions to understanding the distinction between nerve impulses and muscle contractions. During his time he put forward different theories about the nature of embryological development, one of which proposed that the new individual exists within the maternal egg prior to conception. He also put forward an accurate model of fetal growth during gestation, showing that the growth was faster at the beginning than later on. 1777-12-12T00:00:00+0000| 12 Dec 1777 | | Albrecht von Haller diedvon Haller | University of Gottingen |
Lazzaro Spallanzini found that it was possible to remove the fertilising capacity of semen by passing seminal liquid from male frogs through a filter paper and that the material that remained on the filter paper could cause fertilisation. 1779-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1779 | | Filtering process found to remove the fertility of frog spermSpallanzani | University of Padua |
The work was carried by Lazzaro Spallanzani, an Italian catholic priest, biologist and physiologist. He managed to perform the technique in a spaniel dog.1785-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1785 | | First successful artificial insemination in animalsSpallanzani | University of Pavia |
von Baer was a biologist who helped found the discipline of embryology and developmental biology. Much of his early work was on chick embryology. In 1827 he published the first description of the mammalian egg cell. This was based on his investigations of the structure of the ovum in the dog. He found it to be a small yellow spot floating in follicular fluid. von Baer developed the germ-layer theory which holds that four layers of cells are formed in vertebrate eggs and that each layer always gives rise to certain tissues in the adult organism. He also showed that while the early development of embryo of one species resembles that of other species, it passes through a number of states that become progressively different from each other so that the adult never resembles other species. 1792-02-17T00:00:00+0000| 17 Feb 1792 | | Karl Ernst von Baer was born in Piep estate, Governorate of Livonia, Russian Empire (now Piibe, Estonia)von Baer | St Petersburg Academy of Sciences |
Jean-Louis Prevost, a Swiss physician, and Jean-Baptiste Dumas, a French scientist, discovered the presence of spermatozoa in the testes of many different animals. Their work challenged the traditional view at the time that spermatozoa were parasites. Most of the findings were published in the Annales des Sciences Naturelles in the period 1821–30.1800-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1800 | | Sperm shown to be produced in the testisPrevost, Dumas | |
The observation was made by Carl Ernst von Baer while investigating the ovary of a dog. 1826-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1826 | | First observation of a mammalian egg in the ovaryvon Baer | Konigsberg University |
The term was used by Karl Ernst Baer, a Baltic German anatomist and zoologist. Before this time sperm were known as 'animalcules. 1827-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1827 | | Term 'spermatozoa' introduced for the first timevon Baer | St Petersburg Academy of Sciences |
Hertwig was a biologist who determined that fertilisation starts when the nuclei of sperm and ovum cells fuse. This he proved in 1876 through experiments with sea urchins. Eight years later he demonstrated, through investigations of frog eggs, that the cell divides along its long axis. He was also prescient in predicting, in 1885, that the nucleic acid is the substance responsible for fertilisation and the transmission of hereditary traits. This phenomenon was proven in 1944. 1849-04-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Apr 1849 | | Oskar Hertwig was born in Friedberg, GermanyHertwig | Friedberg, Germany |
Loeb was a physiologist and biologist who demonstrated the possibility of reproduction without male fertilisation, parthenogenesis, in sea urchin eggs. He found it was possible to stimulate embryonic development in the eggs of sea urchins without sperm by making slight chemical changes to the water where the eggs were kept. This he discovered while conducting experiments at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His results were published in 'Activation of the unfertilized egg by ultra-violet rays', Science, 40/1036 (1914), 680-1. While Loeb was nominated for the Nobel Prize many times he never won. 1859-04-07T00:00:00+0000| 7 Apr 1859 | | Jacques Loeb was born in Mayen, Germany Loeb | Rockefeller University |
McCormick was one of the first women to earn a biology degree from MIT. She went on to become a prominent suffragist and philanthropist who played a significant role in the development of the first oral contraceptive pill. She provided $2 million of her own money for the development of the pill, first approved for gynaecological disorders in 1957. McCormick continued to provide funding to improve birth control once the pill was approved. 1875-08-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Aug 1875 | | Katherine McCormick bornMcCormick | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
von Baer was a Prussian-Estonian biologist who helped found the discipline of embryology and developmental biology. Much of his early work was on chick embryology. In 1827 he published the first description of the mammalian egg cell. This was based on his investigations of the structure of the ovum in the dog. He found it to be a small yellow spot floating in follicular fluid. von Baer developed the germ-layer theory which holds that four layers of cells are formed in vertebrate eggs and that each layer always gives rise to certain tissues in the adult organism. He also showed that while the early development of embryo of one species resembles that of other species, it passes through a number of states that become progressively different from each other so that the adult never resembles other species. 1876-11-28T00:00:00+0000| 28 Nov 1876 | | Karl Ernst von Baer diedvon Baer | St Petersburg Academy of Sciences |
The observation was made during investigations into sea urchin fertilisation by both Oscar Hertwig and Hermann Fol working independently of each other. 1879-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1879 | | Sperm entry into the egg observedHertwig, Fol | |
Sanger popularised the term 'birth control' and opened the first contraceptive clinic in the United States. She was also the first to envisage a contraceptive that women could take in a pill form and was behind the development of the first oral contraceptive. Sanger first became involved in campaigning for birth control after working as a nurse on the Lower East Side in New York which brought her into close contact with poverty-stricken mothers dying in childbirth due to uncontrolled fertility and unsafe abortions. 1879-09-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 Sep 1879 | | Margaret Sanger was born in Corning, New York, USA
Margaret Sanger | |
A trained botanist and geologist, Stopes was the first female academic to get a position at the University of Manchester where she conducted research on plant palaeontology and coal classification. She is best known for her campaigning work to make birth control available to women. In 1921 she helped to open the first clinic in London that offered birth control advice and dispensed contraception to poor mothers.1880-10-15T00:00:00+0000| 15 Oct 1880 | | Marie Stopes was born in Edinburgh, ScotlandStopes | Manchester University |
Just was an African-American biologist and embryologist whose pioneering work on marine mammal cell fertilisation advanced the understanding of cell division, asexual reproduction, hydration and dehydration in living cells. This work helped to demonstrate the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organisms. His work also showed the effect of ultra violet rays on egg cells. Unable to gain an appointment at an American university on account of racial discrimination, Just moved firstly to Italy and then to Germany and France to continue his research. 1883-08-14T00:00:00+0000| 14 Aug 1883 | | Ernest E Just was born in Charleston, South Carolina, USA
Just | Howard University, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute |
Julian was a chemist who was a renowned pioneer of pharmacological synthesis. He was the first African-American granted a doctoral degree in chemistry and the first to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. In 1935 he achieved the first synthesis of physostigmine. This he produced from soybean oil. The drug is used to treat glaucoma and delayed gastric emptying. A year later he joined the Gidden Company in Chicago where he oversaw the development of the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human sex hormones progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone from soybean plant sterols. This work laid the foundation for the industrial production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and the oral contraceptive pill. Julian left Gidden in 1953 to found his own company, Julian Laboratories Inc. 1899-04-11T00:00:00+0000| 11 Apr 1899 | | Percy Lavon Julian was born in Montgomery, Alabama, USAJulian | Harvard University |
Butenandt was a biochemist. In 1931 he managed to extract estrone and other primary female sex hormones from urine. Three years later he extracted progeterone and testosterone a year later. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1939 for his discovery of sex hormones. Initially Butenandt rejected the Prize in accordance with Nazi government policy, but accepted it in 1949. His involvement with the Nazi regime and science to aid its war efforts led to criticism after World War II. He served as the president of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science between 1960 and 1972. 1903-03-24T00:00:00+0000| 24 Mar 1903 | | Adolf F J Butenandt was born in Bremerhaven, GermanyButenandt | Max Planck Institute |
Pincus was a biologist. He first came to public attention in 1934 when he announced the creation of baby rabbits with in vitro fertilisation. His technique involved the removal of an ovum from the mother rabbit, soaking it in a solution with a mixture of saline and estrone and then placing it back in the rabbit. The experiment could not be repeated by other scientists and prompted wide-scale condemnation. It cost him his tenure position at Harvard University. In order to continue his research Pincus helped found the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in 1944, where he led the development of the first contraceptive pill in the early 1950s.
1903-04-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Apr 1903 | | Gregory Pincus was born in Woodbine, NJ, USAPincus | Harvard University, Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology |
Studying the mealworm, Stevens found that males made reproductive cells with both X and Y chromosomes whereas the females made only those with X. NM Stevens, 'Studies in spermatogenesis with special reference to the accessory chromosome', Studies in Sermatogenesis (Washington, DC, 1905), 1-32. 1905-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1905 | | Nettie Stevens showed that sex is inherited by a chromosomal factor and that males determine the gender of offspringStevens | |
Mazia was a cell biologist whose passion was to understand how cells reproduce. As a doctoral researcher he was one of the first to establish the role of calcium in egg activation in the process of fertilisation. Following this, he worked on the process of cell division, structure and division. He is best known for the work he did in 1931 which helped identify the cell structure responsible for mitosis, the process when a eukaryotic cell divides chromosomes into two identical daughter cells. Mazia also determined how the nucleus and chromosomes change during the cell cycle.1912-12-18T00:00:00+0000| 18 Dec 1912 | | Daniel Mazia was born Scranton, PA, USAMazia | University of California Berkeley |
The work was carried out by Albert Brachet at the Brussels School of Embryology at the Warocque Institute of Anatomy. 1913-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1913 | | First successful culture preimplantation of mammalian embryosBracht | Waroque Institute |
Steptoe was an obstetrician and gynaecologist who co-pioneered in vitro fertilization, the technique that produced the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. This involved collecting ova from Louise's mother using laparoscopy. While Steptoe faced a lot of criticism for his work, many clinics began offering IVF following the birth of Louise. 1913-06-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Jun 1913 | | Patrick Steptoe was born in Oxford, United KingdomSteptoe | Oxford, United Kingdom |
Hertwig was a German biologist who determined that fertilisation starts when the nuclei of sperm and ovum cells fuse. This he proved in 1876 through experiments with sea urchins. Eight years later he demonstrated, through investigations of frog eggs, that the cell divides along its long axis. He was also prescient in predicting, in 1885, that the nucleic acid is the substance responsible for fertilisation and the transmission of hereditary traits. This phenomenon was proven in 1944. 1922-10-25T00:00:00+0000| 25 Oct 1922 | | Oskar Hertwig diedHertwig | |
The concept, known as ectogenesis, was first put forward by JBS Haldane, a geneticist and biochemist, to the Heretics Society at the University of Cambridge.1923-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1923 | | Idea that embryos could be developed in artificial conditions outside the uterusJBS Haldane | University of Cambridge |
Djerassi trained as a chemist and became known for his work in the chemistry of steroids, structure of alkaloids, antibiotics and terpenoids. He helped synthesised drugs like antihistamines, oral contraceptives and anti-inflammatory compounds. In 1951 Djerassi synthesised the progestin noethisterone together with Luis Miramontes. The compound was first introduced for the treatment of gynaecological disorders and then combined with an oestrogen for use as an oral contraceptive pill in 1963. Refused Austrian citizenship after Anschluss because of his Jewish background, Djerassi escaped the Nazi regime by fleeing to Bulgaria with his mother where they stayed for a year before moving to the USA.1923-10-29T00:00:00+0000| 29 Oct 1923 | | Carl Djerassi was born in Vienna, AustriaDjerassi | Syntex, Stanford University |
Loeb was a German-American physiologist and biologist who demonstrated the possibility of reproduction without male fertilisation, parthenogenesis, in sea urchin eggs. He found it was possible to stimulate embryonic development in the eggs of sea urchins without sperm by making slight chemical changes to the water where the eggs were kept. This he discovered while conducting experiments at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. His results were published in 'Activation of the unfertilized egg by ultra-violet rays', Science, 40/1036 (1914), 680-1. While Loeb was nominated for the Nobel Prize many times he never won.
1924-02-11T00:00:00+0000| 11 Feb 1924 | | Jacques Loeb diedLoeb | Rockefeller University |
Miramontes was a chemist. He is best known for having helped to synthesise norethindrone, one of the first compounds used as an oral contraceptive. This he did in 1951 when he was 26 years old. He did the work while based at Syntex, a small Mexican company that first made its name in the production of steroids. 1925-03-16T00:00:00+0000| 16 Mar 1925 | | Luis Ernesto Miramontes was born in Tepic, Nayarit, Mexico
Miramontes | Syntex |
Edwards won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2010 for the part he played in perfecting the in vitro fertilisation of the human egg. His work helped the development of IVF which made possible the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first 'test-tube' baby in 1978. Edwards first began his work in the area in the 1950s. Initially met with great resistance, Edwards' efforts helped break down the social taboos surrounding infertility. Millions of babies have now been created with the help of IVF since 1978. 1925-09-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Sep 1925 | | Robert G Edwards born in Batley, United KingdomRobert Edwards | Cambridge University, Oldham Hospital |
McLaren was a major pioneer in the development of IVF. She was also the key architect behind the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act (1990) which provided the world’s first legal guidelines for infertility treatment and all human embryo research. Following this Act, McLaren served for 10 years on the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, established in 1991, and became a critical player in debates about the governance of embryonic stem cells for therapy. She also made history in 1991 by becoming the Royal Society’s first woman officer.
1927-04-26T00:00:00+0000| 26 Apr 1927 | | Anne McLaren was born in London, UKMcLaren | University College London, Edinburgh University, Cambridge University |
Gregory Pincus, an American biologist, reported that he had managed to fertilise rabbit eggs in vitro. Other scientists struggled to replicate his results which led some to say that his results were due to spontaneous egg activation, a common phenomenon in cultured rabbit eggs. Pincus was subsequently denied tenure at Harvard because of the controversial nature of his work. His research was published in G Pincus, EV Enzmann, 'Can mammalian eggs undergo normal development in vitro', PNAS USA, 20/2 (1934), 121–22.1934-01-04T00:00:00+0000| 4 Jan 1934 | | First reported attempt of IVF in a mammal Pincus, Enzmann | Harvard University |
Gregory Pincus and EV Enzmann found that when they isolated rabbit oocytes from the Graafian follicle and placed them in culture they spontaneously developed from the arrested dictyate stage to the metaphase-II stage.1935-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1935 | | Rabbit oocytes shown to resume meiosis spontaneously in culturePincus, Enzmann | Harvard University |
The observation was reported by Gregory Pincus and Barbara Saunders, 'The comparative behavior of mammalian eggs in vivo and in vitro: VI. The maturation of human ovarian ova', Anat. Rec., 75 (1939), 537–45.1939-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1939 | | Human occytes shown to complete meiosis in vitroPincus, Saunders | Harvard University |
Just was an African-American biologist and embryologist whose pioneering work on marine mammal cell fertilisation advanced the understanding of cell division, asexual reproduction, hydration and dehydration in living cells. This work helped to demonstrate the fundamental role of the cell surface in the development of organisms. His work also showed the effect of ultra violet rays on egg cells. Unable to gain an appointment at an American university on account of racial discrimination, Just moved firstly to Italy and then to Germany and France to continue his research.1941-10-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Oct 1941 | | Ernest E Just diedJust | Howard University, Kaiser Wilhelm Institute |
Known as capacitation, the changes that sperm undergo was first identified separately by Colin Austin and Min Chueh Chang. They showed that such changes happened to the sperm while in the female reproductive tract. Such changes enable the sperm to penetrate the outer layer of the egg and therefore fertilise it. 1951-01-01T00:00:00+0000| 1951 | | Sperm found to need to undergo biochemical and physiological changes in order to fertilise eggChang, Austin | CSIRO Division of Animal Health, Worcester Foundation |
A McLaren and J Biggers, 'Successful birth and development of mice cultivated in vitro and early embryos', 182 (1958), 877-78.1958-09-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Sep 1958 | | First successful IVF in miceMcLaren, Biggers | University College London |
A trained botanist and geologist, Stopes was the first female academic to get a position at the University of Manchester where she conducted research on plant palaeontology and coal classification. She is best known for her campaigning work to make birth control available to women. In 1921 she helped to open the first clinic in London that offered birth control advice and dispensed contraception to poor mothers.1958-10-02T00:00:00+0000| 2 Oct 1958 | | Marie Stopes diedStopes | University of Manchester, University College London |
Min Chueh Chang successfully fertilised invitro eggs taken from a female black rabbit with sperm from male black rabbit. He then transferred the embryo into a surrogate mother which gave births to young rabbits. MC Chang, 'Fertilization of rabbit ova in in vitro', Nature, 184 (1959), 466-67. 1959-08-08T00:00:00+0000| 8 Aug 1959 | | First unequivocal demonstration of IVF in the rabbitChang | Worcester Foundation |
Sanger popularised the term 'birth control' and opened the first contraceptive clinic in the United States. She was also the first to envisage a contraceptive that women could take in a pill form and was behind the development of the first oral contraceptive. Sanger first became involved in campaigning for birth control after working as a nurse on the Lower East Side in New York which brought her into close contact with poverty-stricken mothers dying in childbirth due to uncontrolled fertility and unsafe abortions.1966-09-06T00:00:00+0000| 6 Sep 1966 | | Margaret Sanger diedMargaret Sanger | |
Pincus was a biologist. He first came to public attention in 1934 when he announced the creation of baby rabbits with in vitro fertilisation. His technique involved the removal of an ovum from the mother rabbit, soaking it in a solution with a mixture of saline and estrone and then placing it back in the rabbit. The experiment could not be repeated by other scientists and prompted wide-scale condemnation. It cost him his tenure position at Harvard University. In order to continue his research Pincus helped found the Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology in 1944, where he led the development of the first contraceptive pill in the early 1950s.
1967-08-22T00:00:00+0000| 22 Aug 1967 | | Gregory Pincus diedPincus | Harvard University, Worcester Foundation for Experimental Biology |
McCormick was one of the first American women to earn a biology degree from MIT. She went on to become a prominent suffragist and philanthropist who played a significant role in the development of the first oral contraceptive pill. She provided $2 million of her own money for the development of the pill, first approved for gynaecological disorders in 1957. McCormick continued to provide funding to improve birth control once the pill was approved.1967-12-28T00:00:00+0000| 28 Dec 1967 | | Katherine McCormick diedMcCormick | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
Julian was a chemist who was a renowned pioneer of pharmacological synthesis. He was the first African-American granted a doctoral degree in chemistry and the first to be inducted into the National Academy of Sciences. In 1935 he achieved the first synthesis of physostigmine. This he produced from soybean oil. The drug is used to treat glaucoma and delayed gastric emptying. A year later he joined the Gidden Company in Chicago where he oversaw the development of the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human sex hormones progesterone, oestrogen and testosterone from soybean plant sterols. This work laid the foundation for the industrial production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and the oral contraceptive pill. Julian left Gidden in 1953 to found his own company, Julian Laboratories Inc.1975-04-19T00:00:00+0000| 19 Apr 1975 | | Percy Lavon Julian diedJulian | Harvard University |
The baby, Louise Joy Brown, was born after her mother, Lesley, received treatment for infertility that resulted from blocked fallopian tubes. She had been trying to conceive for 9 years. Later known as in vitro fertilisation (IVF), the procedure Lesley received involved removing an egg from her ovary, fertilising it a Petri dish and then having it replanting it into her, The technique was developed by Patrick Steptoe and Robert Edwards. Four years after Louise was born, Lesley gave birth to another daughter, Natalie, the world's 40th child conceived with IVF. 1978-07-25T00:00:00+0000| 25 Jul 1978 | | First test-tube baby was bornEdwards, Steptoe | |
The technique was developed by Martin Evans and Matt Kaufman. They showed that by delaying implantation it was possible to obtain slightly enlarged mouse blastocysts and that cells taken from these blastocysts could be used to establish mouse embryo stem cell cultures. The work was published in MJ Evans, MH Kaufman, 'Establishment in culture of pluripotential cells from mouse embryos', Nature, 292/154 (1981), 154-56.1981-07-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Jul 1981 | | Mouse embryonic stem cells first isolated and cultured in the laboratoryEvans, Kaufman, Martin | Cambridge University |
A team led by John Buster at UCLA Medical Center successfully non-surgically transferred an embryo from one human to another. The procedure was used to help an infertile woman. She received the embryo donated by another woman. In contrast to the in vitro procedure as was used in the Louise Brown case—in which the mother’s egg is fertilised by the father’s sperm outside the womb—the transplant pregnancy started with in vitro fertilisation.1984-02-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Feb 1984 | | First human embryo-transfer baby bornBuster | University California Los Angeles |
Steptoe was an obstetrician and gynaecologist who co-pioneered in vitro fertilization, the technique that produced the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, in 1978. This involved collecting ova from Louise's mother using laparoscopy. While Steptoe faced a lot of criticism for his work, many clinics began offering IVF following the birth of Louise. 1988-03-21T00:00:00+0000| 21 Mar 1988 | | Patrick Steptoe diedSteptoe | |
Butenandt was a German biochemist. In 1931 he managed to extract estrone and other primary female sex hormones from urine. Three years later he extracted progeterone and testosterone a year later. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1939 for his discovery of sex hormones. Initially Butenandt rejected the Prize in accordance with Nazi government policy, but accepted it in 1949. His involvement with the Nazi regime and science to aid its war efforts led to criticism after World War II. He served as the president of the Max Planck Society for the Advancement of Science between 1960 and 1972.1995-01-18T00:00:00+0000| 18 Jan 1995 | | Adolf F J Butenandt diedButenandt | Max Planck Institute |
Mazia was an American cell biologist whose passion was to understand how cells reproduce. As a doctoral researcher he was one of the first to establish the role of calcium in egg activation in the process of fertilisation. Following this, he worked on the process of cell division, structure and division. He is best known for the work he did in 1931 which helped identify the cell structure responsible for mitosis, the process when a eukaryotic cell divides chromosomes into two identical daughter cells. Mazia also determined how the nucleus and chromosomes change during the cell cycle. 1996-06-09T00:00:00+0000| 9 Jun 1996 | | Daniel Mazia diedMazia | University of California Berkeley |
Miramontes was a Mexican chemist. He is best known for having helped to synthesise norethindrone, one of the first compounds used as an oral contraceptive. This he did in 1951 when he was 26 years old. He did the work while based at Syntex, a small Mexican company that first made its name in the production of steroids. 2004-09-13T00:00:00+0000| 13 Sep 2004 | | Luis Ernesto Miramontes diedMiramontes | Syntex |
McLaren was a major pioneer in the development of IVF. She was also the key architect behind the Human Embryology and Fertilisation Act (1990) which provided the world’s first legal guidelines for infertility treatment and all human embryo research. Following this Act, McLaren served for 10 years on the Human Fertility and Embryology Authority, established in 1991, and became a critical player in debates about the governance of embryonic stem cells for therapy. She also made history in 1991 by becoming the Royal Society’s first woman officer. 2007-07-07T00:00:00+0000| 7 Jul 2007 | | Anne McLaren died McLaren | University College London, Edinburgh University, Cambridge University |
W Hu et al, 'p53 regulates maternal reproduction through LIF', Nature, 450 (2007), 721–4.2007-11-01T00:00:00+0000| November 2007 | | p53 shown to be required for embryo implantationHu, Feng, Teresky, Levine | Cancer Institute of New Jersey |
Edwards won the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 2010 for the part he played in perfecting the in vitro fertilisation of the human egg. His work helped the development of IVF which made possible the birth of Louise Brown, the world's first 'test-tube' baby in 1978. Edwards first began his work in the area in the 1950s. Initially met with great resistance, Edwards' efforts helped break down the social taboos surrounding infertility. Millions of babies have now been created with the help of IVF since 1978. 2013-04-10T00:00:00+0000| 10 Apr 2013 | | Robert G Edwards diedRobert Edwards | Cambridge University, Oldham Hospital |
Born in Austria, Djerassi trained as a chemist and became known for his work in the chemistry of steroids, structure of alkaloids, antibiotics and terpenoids. He helped synthesised drugs like antihistamines, oral contraceptives and anti-inflammatory compounds. In 1951 Djerassi synthesised the progestin noethisterone together with Luis Miramontes. The compound was first introduced for the treatment of gynaecological disorders and then combined with an oestrogen for use as an oral contraceptive pill in 1963. Refused Austrian citizenship after Anschluss because of his Jewish background, Djerassi escaped the Nazi regime by fleeing to Bulgaria with his mother where they stayed for a year before moving to the USA.2015-01-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jan 2015 | | Carl Djerassi diedDjerassi | Syntex, Stanford University |
NIH issued its ban after researchers in China announced experiments altering the gene in non-viable zygotes. 2015-04-15T00:00:00+0000| 15 Apr 2015 | | National Institutes of Health declared it will not fund any use of genome editing technologies in human embryos | |
S. Ellys Harrison, B. Sozen, N. Christodoulou, C. Kyprianou, M. Zernicka-Goetz, 'Assembly of embryonic and extra-embryonic stem cells to mimic embryogenesis in vitro', Science, DOI: 10.1126/science.aal1810
2017-03-03T00:00:00+0000| 3 Mar 2017 | | Cambridge scientists report the development of an aritificial mouse embryo using stem cells | University of Cambridge |
M. Hong, N. Marti-Gutierrez, S-W Park, et al, 'Correction of a pathogenic gene mutation in human embryos', Nature, doi:10.1038/nature233052017-08-02T00:00:00+0000| 2 Aug 2017 | | Research published demonstrating possibility of editing gene defect in pre-implanted human embryos for preventing inherited heart diseaseHong, Marti-Gutierrez, Park, Mitalipov, Kaul, Kim, Amato, Belmonte | Oregon Health & Science University, Salk Institute, Center for Genome Engineering, Seoul National University, China National GeneBank, |
UK scientists modified 41 embryos shortly after fertilisation. N.M.E. Fogarty et al, 'Genome editing reveals a role for OCT4 in human embryogenesis', Nature, doi:10.1038/nature240332017-09-20T00:00:00+0000| September 2017 | | DNA of human embryos edited using CRISPR-Cas9 to study cause of infertilityFogarty, McCarthy, Snijders, Powell, Kubikova, Blakeley, Lea, Elder, Wamaitha, Kim, Maciulyte, Kleinjung, Kim, Wells, Vallier, Bertero, Turner, Niakan | Francis Crick Instiitute, Cambridge University, Oxford University, Seoul National University |
P. Liang, et al, 'Correction of beta-thalassemia mutant by base editor in human embryos', Protein and Cell (2017), doi.org/10.1007/s13238-017-0475-6.2017-09-23T00:00:00+0000| 23 Sep 2017 | | Chinese researchers report correction of gene linked to beta thalassaemia, inherited blood disorder, in human embryos using base editing techniqueLiang, Ching, Sun, Xie, Xu, Zhang, Xhiong, Ma, Liu, Wang, Fang, Songyang, Zhou, Huang | Sun Yat-sen University, Baylor College of Medicine |
The work was undertaken by a group of researchers at the University of Edinburgh led by Evelyn Telfer. It involved taking tiny pieces of ovarian tissue from 10 women undergoing elective caesarean surgery extracting priorial follicles, small structures that have the potential to release an egg, which were then placed in a nutrient-rich liquid to grow. The team then carefully removed the fragile, immature eggs and some surrounding cells from the follicles and placed them on a special membrane with the addition of growth-supporting proteins so that they could grow to become the size you would see of an egg during ovulation. Most of the eggs failed to grow, but 10% completed their journey to maturity - that is they were able to divide and halve their chromosomes so they were ready to be fertilised by sperm. The work was published in M McLaughlin, DF Albertini, WHB Wallace, RA Anderson, EE Telfer, Molecular Human Reproduction, 24/3 (March 2018) 135-42. DOI: 10.1093/molehr/gay002. 2018-01-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jan 2018 | | First human eggs grown in laboratoryTelfer, McLaughlin, Albertini, Wallace, Anderson | University of Edinburg |
He Jiankui, a genome-editing researcher at Southern University of Science and Technology of China, reported transplanting embryos into a woman that he had edited with CRISPR-Cas9 to disable a gene called CCR5, to disable the genetic pathway HIV uses to infect cells. More than 100 Chinese biomerical researchers condemned the experiment and called on Chinese authorities to investigate the case and introduce strict regulations. 2018-11-24T00:00:00+0000| 24 Nov 2018 | | First gene-edited babies announced by Chinese scientistJiankui | Southern University of Science and Technology of China |
The recommendation was based on advice from WHO's 18 member expert advisory committee on human genome editing. 2019-07-30T00:00:00+0000| 30 Jul 2019 | | World Health Organisation called on countries to ban experiments that would lead to more gene-edited babies | |
An adeno-associated-virus was used to introduce the mouse Kitl gene into the mice's ovaries. The gene helps regulate ovarian function and the formation of oocytes. 8 out of 10 mice became fertile after being injected with the gene. The therapy led the mice to bear offspring after they mated naturally. M Kanatsu et al (2022) 'Adeno-associated-virus-mediated gene delivery to ovaries restores fertility in congenital infertile mice', Cell Reports Medicine, 2022-04-27T00:00:00+0000| 27 Apr 2022 | | Gene therapy shown to restore fertility in congenitally infertile miceKanatsu-Shinohara, Jiyoung Lee, o Miyazaki, Morimoto, Shinohara | Kyoto University, Tokyo Medical and Dental University |
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