Are embryos made from skin cells the future of fertility treatment?
BBC Inside Science
BBC
4.5 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 30 October 2025
⏱️ 29 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Scientists in the US have, for the first time, made early-stage human embryos by manipulating DNA taken from people's skin cells and then fertilising them with sperm. It’s hoped the technique could overcome infertility due to old age or disease.
Marnie Chesterton is joined by Dr Geraldine Jowett from the University of Cambridge and Emily Jackson from the London School of Economics to discuss the science behind the research, and the ethical and legal issues it could raise.
We also look back at the life of the pioneering primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall, who died this week at the age of 91. Marnie is joined by one of the scientists she helped to inspire - the biologist Joyce Poole - to reflect on the huge legacy she leaves behind.
As the European Union discusses the possibility of setting up a Europe-wide ‘drone wall’ to protect against Russian airspace incursions, we discuss the rapid advancements in drone technology with journalist and author of the book ‘Swarm Troopers: How Small Drones Will Conquer The World’, David Hambling.
And Marnie is joined by journalist Caroline Steel to look through a range of this week’s most intriguing scientific breakthroughs.
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton Producers: Clare Salisbury, Ella Hubber, Dan Welsh, Jonathan Blackwell, Tim Dodd Editor: Martin Smith Production Co-ordinator: Jana Bennett-Holesworth
Transcript
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| 0:45.1 | 2025. I'm Marnie Chesterton. Hello. This week we pay tribute to pioneering primatologist |
| 0:52.3 | Jane Goodall. Ask what ease a drone wall and how scared |
| 0:56.6 | should we be of the army of eyes in the sky? And science broadcaster Caroline Steele joins me |
| 1:02.1 | with the choicest cuts from the freshest science papers. But I want to start with huge news from the |
| 1:08.6 | world of fertility. What we learn during school biology |
| 1:11.9 | lessons is to make a human you need an egg and a sperm. But is science on the cusp of finding |
| 1:18.1 | other roots using skin cells? Maybe. This week, a team at Oregon Health and Science University |
| 1:24.8 | say they have made human embryos from skin cells. |
| 1:28.5 | The authors say it's a step closer to overcoming infertility, but not all scientists agree on their approach. |
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