White Rhinos Are Nearly Extinct – But Scientists Grew a Test-Tube Embryo To Help Save Them
July 6, 2018 – The northern white rhino is a near-extinct species: the last male, Sudan, died in March 2018 and there are only two females left, both infertile. Scientists had been saving sperm from the last four white rhino bulls. Now, for the first time, they found a way to create hybrid embryos by applying the test-tube fertilization (IVF) technique. They combined oocytes extracted from a female southern white rhino, a similar sub-species, with the thawed sperm. The hybrid embryos are ready enough to breed but a surrogate southern white rhino female still hasn't been identified.
