Men No Longer Needed to Create Sperm

While this is an older article, I did a search and found that ATS didnt have a thread on it.

Scientists at the University of Newcastle have managed to create human sperm cells using a female embryonic stem cell.

The researchers, led by Prof Karim Nayernia, had previously created primitive sperm cells from male bone marrow. They’re currently working on making the cells from female bone marrow, which would be much easier and more practical than creating them from embryos.

The creation means that lesbian couples could soon have children that shared the DNA of both women, rather than having one male biological father. A sperm cell created from one partner could fertilize her partner’s egg.

Article

I very interesting article. Brings up a lot of questions like: "female sperm + egg = viable healthy children?" "what are the political implications?" "(sigh) bring on the religious zealotry"

reply to post by Tentickles


Very interesting.

However I am a bit concerned. Not just 'cos I'm a man and my genetic redundency might be up! But because the whole idea is a fresh mix of DNA and genes to create a new version, a new edition based on the mix.

Now, if it contained only the DNA of one side, it would seem like the offspring will be at a genetic disadvantage.

I have no evidence of this, of course, but it just seems like over the billions of years of life on Earth, one of the positive outcomes of procreation is improving on the previous generation through the combination of new DNA, albeit over a long period of time.

Plus.. I really enjoy *donating* my efforts to the cause!

[edit on 11-3-2010 by noonebutme]

It'd be interesting to see what such children were like. Might they only be female? 2 X chromosones on both sides... unless they find a way to change that too.

Not to mention that we might have to redefine "Homosexual" to include this 0_o Anyone want to work out THAT definition?

If there are no health issues, and this 100% safe, then great!

I was wondering if they'd actually tested these created sperm cells to see if they actually work to make an embryo, have they tested it with animals too as I'm sure human testing is a big no go area.

reply to post by Tentickles


How will they introduce the Y chromosome? Or is the plan to only have females?

I was too slow in typing this out. Vyrox beat me to the punch.


[edit on 11-3-2010 by Nutter]

what happened, no noone has to have an orgasm in order for a women to get pregnant. I just hope my great grandson still gets to experience making his first child the way that its suppose to be done.

BOOO for fake sperm

Well I for one am not worried about being replaced by a petri dish...
No matter how loud my wife and daughters yell that test tube just isn't going to get up and kill a spider in the tub for them...

Not that I don't find the article interesting but why the hell has money been put into this? What do we need artificial sperm for.. there are sperm banks if they're worried we're suddenly just gonna run out. What a waste of money just so lesbians can have a baby that is just their DNA.

Note to the entire world, that's not how babies are made, GM crops are f'ed up, we don't need GM people. And I'd stake money that if any child was successfully created via this method that they themselves would be infertile.

This originally came from another source....

It is a bit more indepth and also includes how a homosexual couple can have their own biological children too...

This is also a part of the cited source and article at the link...

In Brazil, a team led by Dr Irina Kerkis of the Butantan Institute in Saõ Paulo claims to have made both sperm and eggs from cultures of male mouse embryonic stem cells in the journal Cloning and Stem Cells.

The researchers have not yet shown that their male eggs can be fertilised to produce viable offspring, but they are thinking about possibilities for same-sex human reproduction.

and.....

If all these experiments pan out, then the stage would also be set for a gay man to donate skin cells that could be used to make eggs, which could then be fertilised by his partner’s sperm and placed into the uterus of a surrogate mother.

“I think it is possible,” says Kerkis, “but I don’t know how people will look at this ethically.”

www.telegraph.co.uk...

I really can't see in all honestly how they can even contemplate this.
All they are focussing on is the fertilisation of an egg. There is way more to being a human being than that. They have absolutely no idea how these "humans" are going to turn out in the long run once they are born into the world.

We have so many disabilities and abnormalities occuring when the "original"
source material (human male sperm) is used.

I really think this is going way to far. It seems they want to do away with all of our normal fertility functions. Both for men AND WOMEN. It really is almost like creating a new species of genetically different humans. Cause you can guarantee they are going to be different.


[edit on 11-3-2010 by Flighty]

Originally posted by vyrox
It'd be interesting to see what such children were like. Might they only be female? 2 X chromosones on both sides...

Yes, they would be.

I once had a pond full of swordtail fish, a type of platy. There were four males originally; all, over time, died. But the females kept on breeding--for years!--and the pond was full of female swordtails.

What fun.