India, Feb. 6 -- A team of scientists has successfully produced the first kangaroo embryos using in vitro fertilisation (IVF), a technique commonly used in humans and domesticated animals. This breakthrough could be a crucial step towards the conservation of endangered marsupial species, according to the researchers at the University of Queensland, Australia.

Lead author of the study, published in Reproduction, Fertility and Development, Andres Gambini, said the research has provided valuable insights into marsupial reproduction. "Australia is home to the greatest diversity of marsupial fauna on the planet but it also has the highest mammal extinction rate," he said in a statement.

Australia has lost 87 per cent of its unique mammal spe...