{"product_id":"fp-02","title":"1970: Steptoe's telescope finds the ripe egg","description":"\u003cstyle\u003e@import url('https:\/\/fonts.googleapis.com\/css2?family=Cormorant+Garamond:ital,wght@0,300;0,400;0,500;0,600;1,400;1,500\u0026family=Source+Sans+3:ital,wght@0,400;0,500;0,600;1,400\u0026display=swap');\n#ivfm-exhibit{--ink:#1b2447;--slate:#5f667f;--paper:#efeee9;--hair:#d6d4cb;--rose:#c0355f;--serif:'Cormorant Garamond',Georgia,serif;--sans:'Source Sans 3',Arial,sans-serif;color:var(--ink);font-family:var(--sans);font-size:18px;line-height:1.65;max-width:760px;margin:0 auto;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .kick{font-size:14px;letter-spacing:.16em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--rose);margin:0 0 10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .stand{font-family:var(--serif);font-size:clamp(23px,2.6vw,28px);line-height:1.35;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 24px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit figure{margin:0 0 28px;padding:10px;background:#fff;border:1px solid var(--hair);}\n#ivfm-exhibit figure img{display:block;width:100%;height:auto;}\n#ivfm-exhibit figcaption{font-size:15px;line-height:1.5;margin-top:10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .cr{display:block;font-size:13.5px;color:var(--slate);margin-top:4px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit h2{font-family:var(--serif);font-weight:500;font-size:30px;margin:30px 0 10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit p{margin:0 0 18px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit blockquote{margin:28px 0;padding:6px 0 6px 22px;border-left:3px solid var(--rose);font-family:var(--serif);font-size:24px;line-height:1.4;font-style:italic;}\n#ivfm-exhibit blockquote cite{display:block;font-family:var(--sans);font-style:normal;font-size:14.5px;color:var(--slate);margin-top:10px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card{background:var(--paper);border:1px solid var(--hair);padding:20px 22px;margin:30px 0;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card h3{font-size:14px;letter-spacing:.14em;text-transform:uppercase;color:var(--slate);margin:0 0 10px;font-weight:600;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card .pt{font-family:var(--serif);font-size:22px;line-height:1.35;margin:0 0 8px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .card p{font-size:16px;margin:0 0 6px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit details{font-size:15px;color:var(--slate);border-top:1px solid var(--hair);padding-top:12px;margin-top:24px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit summary{cursor:pointer;font-weight:600;color:var(--ink);}\n#ivfm-exhibit .nav{display:flex;flex-wrap:wrap;gap:10px;margin:28px 0 8px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit .nav a{display:inline-block;padding:10px 16px;border:1px solid var(--ink);color:var(--ink);text-decoration:none;font-size:15px;}\n#ivfm-exhibit a{color:var(--ink);}\n.breadcrumb--product-single,.product-single__media,.product-single__primary-blocks,.product-single__box__block--tab{display:none!important}\n.product-single__content{display:block!important;grid-template-columns:none!important}\n.product-single__secondary-blocks{width:100%!important;max-width:none!important;margin:0!important;padding:0!important;opacity:1!important;transform:none!important}\n.product-single__box__block--description{opacity:1!important;transform:none!important;width:100%!important}\n#ivfm-exhibit h1{font-family:var(--serif);font-weight:500;font-size:clamp(38px,5vw,56px);line-height:1.08;margin:0 0 16px;color:var(--ink)}\n[id^=\"shopify-section-template--\"]:not([id$=\"__main\"]){display:none!important}\n\u003c\/style\u003e\n\u003cdiv id=\"ivfm-exhibit\"\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"kick\"\u003eThe Founding Papers · FP·02 · 1970\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch1\u003e1970: Steptoe's telescope finds the ripe egg\u003c\/h1\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"stand\"\u003eA surgeon in Oldham showed that he could reach inside the body through a tiny cut and collect an egg at the very moment it was ready.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cfigure data-archive-ref=\"EDWS 18\/1\/4\"\u003e\u003cimg src=\"https:\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0634\/5152\/9388\/files\/02_EDWS_18-1-4_Patrick_Steptoe_operating_at_Oldham.webp?width=1600\" alt=\"Patrick Steptoe at the laparoscope during the clinical research at Oldham.\" loading=\"lazy\"\u003e\u003cfigcaption\u003ePatrick Steptoe at the laparoscope during the clinical research at Oldham.\u003cspan class=\"cr\"\u003eChurchill Archives Centre, Cambridge. The Papers of Robert Edwards, EDWS 18\/1\/4.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/figcaption\u003e\u003c\/figure\u003e\n\u003ch2\u003eThe story\u003c\/h2\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eEdwards had fertilised eggs that he had ripened in a dish. Now the team wanted eggs that had ripened naturally, inside the body. The problem was reaching them at the right moment.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePatrick Steptoe had the answer: the laparoscope, a slim telescope that let a surgeon see the ovary through a small incision. In this paper the two men describe collecting eggs just before they would have been released, after the ovaries had been stimulated with hormones.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt was the moment the partnership became complete: the scientist's laboratory and the surgeon's hands. Later the team would turn to natural cycles instead, as the 1980 paper records.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"card\"\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003eThe paper\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"pt\"\u003eLaparoscopic Recovery of Preovulatory Human Oocytes after Priming of Ovaries with Gonadotrophins\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePatrick Steptoe, Robert Edwards\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Lancet\u003c\/em\u003e 1970;1(7649):683 to 689. Published 4 April 1970. \u003ca href=\"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1016\/S0140-6736(70)90923-2\"\u003eRead the paper\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdiv class=\"nav\"\u003e\n\u003ca href=\"\/products\/fp-01\"\u003e← 1969: The first human eggs fertilised in a dish\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/products\/fp-03\"\u003e1970: The first human embryos grown in the laboratory →\u003c\/a\u003e\u003ca href=\"\/pages\/founding-papers\"\u003eAll the Founding Papers\u003c\/a\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\n\u003cdetails\u003e\u003csummary\u003eHow we know\u003c\/summary\u003e\u003cp\u003eCitation from PubMed and Crossref, read 6 October 2026. No abstract is indexed and the journal could not be opened, so this label rests on the title.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/details\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e","brand":"IVF Museum","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47576834244780,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/ivfmuseum.org\/products\/fp-02","provider":"IVF Museum","version":"1.0","type":"link"}