World's First Test-Tube Puppies Are Born

Tens of thousands of test-tube babies are conceived each year, but a new litter of puppies marks the first time dogs have been born via in vitro fertilization, NBC News reports.

The first human test-tube baby was born in 1978, and it's taken decades of work to figure out how to make a puppy the same way – dogs have a different reproductive cycle from other animals bred through IVF. 

A team from Cornell University's College of Veterinary Medicine used a chemical bath to find the right egg cell to use, they reported in the Public Library of Science journal PLoS ONE.

The idea is to be able to produce lab animals for medical tests. But the method can also be used to preserve endangered species or correct genetic diseases prevalent in some breeds, the team said. 

"What's next for the puppies is a lot of house training," associate professor Alexander Travis told NBC News.

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