Australian scientists create the world's first kangaroo embryo: why it matters

Australian scientists have created the world's first kangaroo embryo through in vitro fertilization. They call it a key step toward saving the endangered marsupials.

A team of researchers from the University of Queensland used this technique on eastern gray kangaroos, intending to eventually use IVF for less rare marsupials. The ultimate goal of the research is to support the conservation of endangered marsupial species such as koalas, Tasmanian devils, northern hairy wombats, and Leadbeater's possums, phys.org quotes lead researcher Andres Gambini as saying.

Scientists created the embryos using a technique that involves injecting a single sperm directly into a mature egg. They collected eggs and sperm from eastern gray kangaroos as a model for adapting embryo technology that is already being applied to pets and humans. Now they are at the stage of improving the method of collecting, cultivating, and preserving marsupial eggs and sperm.

According to Gambini, with proper cooperation, funding, and technical progress, IVF births could be possible within ten years.

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