Using stem cells to create new human eggs

Biologist Ji Wu and his colleagues at Shanghai Jiao Tong University reported that they had isolated "female germline stem cells" from adult mouse ovaries. To prove their case, the team even genetically modified the putative stem cells so that they produced green fluorescent protein (GFP) and then injected them into the ovaries of sterilized mice. After the treatment, those females gave birth to pups that glowed green, demonstrating that the injected cells had given rise to mature oocytes.

Source : news.sciencemag.org...

We all learned in high school that women, as opposed to men, have a finite number of eggs that can be used throughout one's life. A biologist seems to have found a method that uses stem cells in mouse to create new eggs and therefore potentially extend mammal female fertility.

The process can be used to help treatment of sterility after cancer treatment. That can raise various medical and moral questions.

Is it wise to have children that late in life, for the health of the mother as well as raising small children during retirement?
Will the eggs have the same quality as those found naturally in women?

I am looking forward for your comments!

This is just wrong IMO. Messing with mother nature again.
Scientist grow mouse sperm in laboratory www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by gagol

Tilly holds a patent on the human egg stem cells, and he has started a biotech company to explore possible ways to use the cells to help improve fertility treatments.

I am strongly against patents on human biology and in medical field in general, the best example being the story of penicillin: Alexander Fleming discovered it and then he did NOT patented it to keep it public and ensure a wide adoption. Link : en.wikipedia.org...

i don't see anything wrong with this, there's reason to believe humans are lab experiments too. who knows. Might as well play god too and experiment wit dna and stem cells

reply to post by wlord


Have you seen Gattaca? That amongst many other possible bad side effects could come from messing with human biology. I'm all for regrowing ears and repairing scar tissue etc, but giving fertility to someone who is outside the 'normal' age of conceiving is a little frightening. Also, would surely hate to see how a modified human would affect the mutation of diseases.

I think science is going into too many areas that are unethical, this being one of them.

Cloning is against the law, but do we really think there isn't stuff going on behind closed doors? I think there is.

And I think this sort of research, as mentioned in the post above about the movie Gattaca (great movie by the way), will lead to preferred gene selection, if it hasn't already.

I'm all for stem cell research, but this gives me the creeps. Too reminesent of Huxley's 'Brave New Worlds" fertilization room