A Japanese researcher announced at an important genetics conference that he had created eggs from the cells of a male mouse.
The research, still in its early stages, involved converting male XY chromosomes into female XX chromosomes.
Professor Katsuhiko Hayashi from Osaka University is working on developing fertility treatments.
This result, which he submitted for publication in the scientific journal Nature, opens the possibility for male couples to have their own children.
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Professor George Daly of Harvard Medical School, who was not involved in the research, says that much more needs to be done before society faces such a decision.
"Hayashi's work is unpublished but fascinating. "Doing it in humans is more difficult than doing it in mice," he said.
We still do not understand enough of the unique biology of human gametogenesis (the formation of reproductive cells) to be able to replicate Hayashi's provocative work in mice."
The details were presented at the Human Gene Editing Summit at the Crick Institute in London.
Professor Hayashi, an expert in this field who is respected throughout the world, told delegates at the conference that the work is still at a very early stage.
He says the eggs were of very low quality and that the technique at this stage could not be safely replicated in humans.
But he told BBC News that he could envision the current problems being overcome in ten years' time and would like to see it available as a fertility treatment for men, women and same-sex couples, if it is proven to be safe. for use.
"If people want it and society accepts that kind of technology, then yes, I'm all for it."
The technique involves first taking a skin cell from a male mouse and then turning it into a stem cell - a cell that can turn into other types of cells.
The cells are male and therefore have XY chromosomes.
Professor Katsuhiko's team then deletes the Y chromosome, duplicates the X chromosome and then joins the two X's together.
This modification allows the stem cell to be programmed to become an egg cell.
This technique could be used to help infertile couples where the women are unable to produce their own eggs.
However, he pointed out that it is still a long way from becoming an available fertility treatment.
"Even in mice, there are many problems with egg quality. So before we can look at it as a fertility treatment, we have to sort out those issues first, which could take a long time," he says.
Professor Hayashi said that he is not in favor of the technique being used by a man to create a baby with the help of his own sperm and artificially created egg cells.
"It is technically possible. I'm not sure at this stage it's safe or socially acceptable."
Professor Amander Clark, a stem cell scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles, said the LGBT community should be able to make decisions about the use of this reproductive technology.
"The LGBT community has unique needs when it comes to starting a family. It may be possible in the future for same-sex reproduction to be based on current research with the help of laboratory models that will develop the technology.
"However, today this technology is not available for human use, safety and efficacy have not been proven, and it is not known how long it will take for the technology to reach the clinic. There is still much to be learned about human germ cells, and fundamental gaps in knowledge serve as a barrier to applying this research to humans."
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Cultural differences
Alta Caro, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said that different cultures will have "fundamentally different views" on whether the technology should be used, if it becomes available.
"In some societies, the genetic contribution to one's child is considered absolutely essential, and for them the question is 'should I take this step?' for those who are not in a heterosexual relationship.
"For other societies, it doesn't even matter, because adopting a child is perfectly acceptable, because for them, families are more about personal relationships and less about biological bonds."
Professor Haoji Wang of the Chinese Academy of Sciences thinks that much more needs to be done before this technology can be considered for use in the clinic.
"Scientists never say never, it's basically been done in mice, so of course it's possible in humans, but I can see there will be a lot of challenges and I can't predict how many years it will take."
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