Embryo - en.wikipedia.org Sperm cells from human beings have been made in the laboratory for the first time. A collaborative of a biotechnology start-up called Kallistem, claims to have manufactures mature human sperm in vitro from immature germ cells taken from the testes of six infertile men. This was done so that the sterile men could produce children of their own.
All well and good. But surely the technique will expand. Human sperm could go on producing more human sperm, in vitro.
Of course, many leading scientists have expressed doubts, saying that until the research is published, it is impossible for the findings to be verified by other peers.
Back in 2011, Japanese scientists announced a breakthrough in vitro sperm of mice in the laboratory. They showed it was possible to produce mature mouse sperm and use it to fertilise mouse eggs to produce viable offspring.
The Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, where the latest development was made, said in a press statement last week that their breakthrough is genuine.
I wonder if they've produced a human baby in their effort to produce viable offspring. Would that be morally right? But if not, the experiment goes nowhere. Infertile men wouldn't get their own children.
The Institut claim the research could help young cancer patients around the world left sterile by chemotherapy and adult men whose infertility cannot be treated by existing IVF procedures.
Source: Independent.
All well and good. But surely the technique will expand. Human sperm could go on producing more human sperm, in vitro.
Of course, many leading scientists have expressed doubts, saying that until the research is published, it is impossible for the findings to be verified by other peers.
Back in 2011, Japanese scientists announced a breakthrough in vitro sperm of mice in the laboratory. They showed it was possible to produce mature mouse sperm and use it to fertilise mouse eggs to produce viable offspring.
The Institut de Génomique Fonctionnelle, where the latest development was made, said in a press statement last week that their breakthrough is genuine.
I wonder if they've produced a human baby in their effort to produce viable offspring. Would that be morally right? But if not, the experiment goes nowhere. Infertile men wouldn't get their own children.
The Institut claim the research could help young cancer patients around the world left sterile by chemotherapy and adult men whose infertility cannot be treated by existing IVF procedures.
Source: Independent.
Who knows where the technique will lead?
I write fiction, and you can imagine where this discovery is guiding my creative mind. No need for men—at all. If the experiments expand, sperm could be bought at a supermarket along with the weekly food items. Every woman could choose when she will become pregnant.
But, would she be denied physical closeness?
Perhaps we'll keep men around to protect and defend us. Let them debate issues in Government—but only as assistants—virtual spokespersons to their female leaders. Ha ha.
And yet, I can't help wondering what would happen if the gender role in the balance of power changed. In my mind, the ideal would be equal status for men and women, depending on their capabilities.
Can you envisage a world where men lost their main role?
I write fiction, and you can imagine where this discovery is guiding my creative mind. No need for men—at all. If the experiments expand, sperm could be bought at a supermarket along with the weekly food items. Every woman could choose when she will become pregnant.
But, would she be denied physical closeness?
Perhaps we'll keep men around to protect and defend us. Let them debate issues in Government—but only as assistants—virtual spokespersons to their female leaders. Ha ha.
And yet, I can't help wondering what would happen if the gender role in the balance of power changed. In my mind, the ideal would be equal status for men and women, depending on their capabilities.
Can you envisage a world where men lost their main role?
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