--- title: Scientists Use Skin Cells to Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs description: Scientists have succeeded in using skin cells to create primitive forms of artificial sperm and eggs. canonical: https://time.com/3647037/u-k-scientists-artificial-sperm-eggs/ author: Helen Regan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-12-25T04:19:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-22T03:07:44.420Z article:section: Science og:title: Scientists Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs og:description: The medical feat could transform fertility treatment. og:url: https://time.com/3647037/u-k-scientists-artificial-sperm-eggs/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c179ec0c5a4961c/6987773f524fc03e3bdeba0e/460716011.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: 460716011 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Scientists Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs twitter:description: The medical feat could transform fertility treatment. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c179ec0c5a4961c/6987773f524fc03e3bdeba0e/460716011.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Scientists Use Skin Cells to Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Dec 25, 2014 4:19 AM UTC  Egg and sperm, artwork Egg and sperm, artworkGetty Images by [Helen Regan](https://time.com/author/helen-regan/) ## Helen Regan Dec 25, 2014 4:19 AM UTC British scientists from Cambridge have succeeded in using skin cells to create [primitive](http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/24/science-skin-cells-create-artificial-sperm-eggs) forms of artificial sperm and eggs. The feat could transform fertility treatment and our understanding of age-related diseases, the _Guardian_ reports. Scientists created the early sex cells by culturing human embryonic stem cells for five days in controlled conditions. They then showed that by following the same procedure they could convert adult skin tissue into early-stage sperm and eggs, raising the likelihood of using sex cells that genetically match a patient undergoing IVF treatment. The scientists believe these cells have the potential could grow into mature sperm and eggs, something that has never been done in a lab before. \[[_The Guardian_\]](http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/dec/24/science-skin-cells-create-artificial-sperm-eggs) Scientists Use Skin Cells to Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3647037/u-k-scientists-artificial-sperm-eggs/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3647037/u-k-scientists-artificial-sperm-eggs/"},"headline":"Scientists Use Skin Cells to Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs","datePublished":"2014-12-25T04:19:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-22T03:07:44.420Z","description":"The feat could help patients with fertility problems","url":"https://time.com/3647037/u-k-scientists-artificial-sperm-eggs/","keywords":["fertility","eggs","sperm","diseases"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c179ec0c5a4961c/6987773f524fc03e3bdeba0e/460716011.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Helen Regan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/helen-regan/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c179ec0c5a4961c/6987773f524fc03e3bdeba0e/460716011.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"460716011","caption":"460716011","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/fertility/","name":"fertility"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3647037/u-k-scientists-artificial-sperm-eggs/","name":"Scientists Use Skin Cells to Create Artificial Sperm and Eggs"}}]}] ```