IVF innovator Robert G. Edwards wins Nobel Prize

British biologist Robert G. Edwards, whose contributions to the technology of in-vitro fertilization have made more than 4 million couples parents, has been awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.

Working with Dr. Patrick Steptoe, Edwards, now 85, developed the techniques for removing mature eggs from a woman's ovaries, fertilizing them in test tubes and inducing them to begin dividing before implanting them back in the mother.

Their efforts yielded the July 25,1978, birth of Louise Brown, the first "test tube baby," demonstrating both the success and the safety of the technique and bringing hope to infertile people all over the world. An estimated 10% of all couples are unable to conceive naturally.Edwards is in failing health and was unable to accept the early-morning call from Sweden's Nobel committee. "I spoke to his wife, and she was delighted, and she was sure he would be delighted too," the committee's secretary, Goran Hansson, told a Stockholm news conference.

In a statement released by Bourn Hall, the Cambridge IVF clinic founded by Edwards and Steptoe, Ruth Edwards said, "The family are thrilled and delighted that Professor Edwards has been awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine for the development of IVF. The success of this research has touched the lives of millions of people worldwide, and his dedication and single-minded determination despite opposition from many quarters has led to successful application of his pioneering research."

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