The British scientist who helped to create the first test-tube baby was awarded the Nobel Prize for medicine .Robert Edwards of Britain won the Nobel Prize of 2010 in medicine for developing in-vitro fertilization, a controversial breakthrough that ignited sharp criticism from religious leaders but helped millions of infertile couples in the last three decades have children.
Edwards, an 85-year-old professor emeritus at the University of Cambridge, started working on IVF as early as the 1950s. He developed the technique – in which egg cells are removed from a woman, fertilized outside her body and then implanted into the womb – together with British gynecologist surgeon Patrick Steptoe, who died in 1988.
On July 25, 1978, Louise Brown in Britain became the first baby born through the groundbreaking procedure"(Edwards') achievements have made it possible to treat infertility..." the medicine prize committee in Stockholm said in its citation. "Approximately 4 million individuals have been born thanks to IVF," the citation said. "Today, Robert Edwards' vision is a reality and brings joy to infertile people all over the world."
Steptoe and Edwards developed IVF from the early beginning experiments into a practical course of medicine and founded the first IVF clinic at Bourn Hall in Cambridge in 1980.
Prize committee secretary Goran Hansson said Edwards was not in good health Monday when the committee tried to reach him. "I spoke to his wife and she was delighted and she was sure he would be delighted too," Hansson told reporters in Stockholm after announcing the 10 million kronor ($1.5 million) award.
"Louise's birth signified so much," Edwards said at Brown's 25th birthday celebration in 2003. "We had to fight a lot of opposition but we had concepts that we thought would work and they worked."
Brown reportedly is a postal worker in the English coastal city of Bristol. In 2007 she gave birth to her first child – a boy named Cameron. She said the child was conceived naturally.
"Its fantastic news, me and mum are so glad that one of the pioneers of IVF has been given the recognition he deserves. We hold Bob in great affection and are delighted to send our personal congratulations," Brown said in a statement released by Bourn Hall. VEDIO