World: Test tube victory: In vitro fertilization pioneer nabs Nobel Prize
- 32 years the amount of time it’s been since the first successful in vitro fertilization (Louise Brown) was born
- 4 million the number of couples (and kids) that have benefited from the procedure since then source
- » Why Robert Edwards won the prize: It wasn’t just for his pioneering spirit, though that helped. It was for the way that he followed his technique through and was able to allay moral concerns. “In retrospect, it is amazing that Edwards not only was able to respond to the continued criticism of in vitro fertilization, but that he also remained so persistent and unperturbed in fulfilling his scientific vision,” wrote Nobel Prize committee member Christer Höög.