They Say: Women May Still Produce Eggs As Adults

Rule of thumb has always been that women were born with a set number of eggs and that was it. As she ages, so do her eggs. So when she gets pregnant at age 36, she’s doing it with a 36 year old egg. Now that’s some pretty good shelf life but still there are concerns that the quality of the eggs may diminish and the odds of getting pregnant in the first place becomes harder.

But now, scientists have discovered that women of adult age have stem cells inside their ovaries that can create more, newer and younger eggs. Throwing the whole, ‘you have this many eggs in your basket and that’s it’ theory out the window.

The study was published in the scientific journal Nature Cell Biology and describes the results of a team of Chinese researchers who found, via a study in mice, that an adult mammal can make new eggs and have healthy children…or baby mice in this case. There have been several studies recently with hints that adult women may be making more eggs, but this is the first research study to obtain the actual cells that make the magic happen.

“If you are looking to disprove that females cannot make new eggs, this paper proves it. It’s a really significant paper,” said Harvard Medical School professor Jonathan L. Tilly, “This is the smoking gun.”

But not all are as optimistic. “The aging process of the human egg differs fundamentally from that of the mouse egg,” said David L. Keefe, a University of South Florida professor of obstetrics and gynecology. “Except at Disney World, humans are not large mice.”

There will undoubtedly be much interest in this study since it could address many an infertility issue. Doctors in the fertility field are undoubtedly hoping this new study will lead to productive and lucrative procedures in the future.

Via Jezebel
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