Congrats to Robert Edwards for winning the 2010 Nobel Prize in Medicine. He developed in vitro fertilization which has allowed 4 million couples experience the joys of parenthood who could not get pregnant.
IVF has seen its share of controversy. Those against it claimed we were playing God, while those in favor sought to help those who did not have a chance to produce a child. In a similar situation today, maybe we will one day award the creator of stem cells. Perhaps the greatest controversy of all, IVF opened the door for pseudo-celebrities like Kate Gosslin and the Octo-mom to become famous.
Anyways, Robert Edwards' IVF has changed a lot of lives and helped us to understand a lot about fertilization. As he himself said, "We had a lot of critics but we fought like hell for our patients." Congrats, you earned it.
Links:
SciAm's Coverage of Edward's Nobel Prize
Wikipedia Page on IVF
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