The Nobel prize in physiology or medicine was awarded today to Robert G. Edwards, an English biologist who helped develop in vitro fertilization (IVF). The New York Times reports:
Since the birth of the first test tube baby, Louise Brown, on July 25, 1978, some four million babies worldwide have been conceived by mixing eggs and sperm outside the body and returning the embryo to the womb to resume development. The procedure overcomes many previously untreatable causes of infertility.
Edwards developed IVF with physician Patrick Steptoe, who passed away in 1988.
The greetings on the Nobel announcement are also quite touching:
Thank you for our daughter! Congratulations on being recognized for your very important work.
