General

Nobel prize goes to in-vitro pioneer

Robert Edwards wins the 2010 Nobel prize in medicine

Biologist Robert Edwards has been awarded 2010 Nobel prize in medicine for his pioneering work on in-vitro fertilization. Edwards is best-known for developing the “test tube baby” technique, which has allowed infertile couples to conceive. Louise Brown, the first in-vitro fertilization baby, was born on July 25, 1978 thanks to the work of Edwards and his colleague, Patrick Steptoe, who died in 1988 (the prizes are not awarded posthumously). “His achievements have made it possible to treat infertility, a medical condition affecting a large proportion of humanity,” said the Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden when it announced the $1.5 million prize on Monday.

Washington Post

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