Before reading the beneath article. Please keep the following questions in mind for the open debate: - Do you think that it is ethical to do this kind of reseach? - Can you imagine a society where women can have off-spring by using there own genetic material? Women may be able to grow own sperm By Roger Highfield, Science Editor Last Updated: 12:01am BST 13/04/2007 Women could one day grow their own sperm, says a scientist who today claims to have turned bone marrow into early-stage sperm cells. His team is now studying how to grow fully fledged sperm from bone marrow as a means to restore fertility in young men who have undergone cancer treatments. It could be five years before trials start. Prof Karim Nayernia and his colleagues have completed similar experiments with female mice. Within a few months, they expect to see if the method can be extended so that early-stage sperm can in principle be made from women, too. Along with cloning, this could mark the second technique that makes men redundant. The derivation of "putative" early-stage sperm from four male volunteers is published today in the journal Reproduction: Gamete Biology by Prof Nayernia of the Northeast England Stem Cell Institute, Centre for Life, Newcastle upon Tyne. Some experts urged caution about his claims, questioning the safety of using sperm derived from stem cells, and one was sceptical about the idea of women making sperm. For the experiment, which was undertaken at Göttingen University, in Germany, Prof Nayernia's team took bone marrow from male volunteers and isolated a "parent cell". These stem cells have been found to grow into other tissues such as muscle. In laboratory tests, they persuaded the stem cells to develop. The resulting cells look ordinary but genetic markers suggested that they were partly-developed sperm cells, otherwise known as "spermatogonial" stem cells. In most men, spermatogonial cells eventually develop into mature sperm but this progression was not achieved in this experiment, said Prof Nayernia. He said his work was backed by a study of mice by Prof Ronald Swerdloff at the University of California, Los Angeles, who reported in the American Journal of Pathology that it was possible to turn these stem cells into early sperm cells. Prof Nayernia said: "We're very excited about this discovery. Our next goal is to see if we can get the spermatogonial stem cells to progress to mature sperm." He is to ask for permission to carry out similar experiments with human bone marrow in Newcastle, where the Centre for Life unveiled the world's first cloned human embryos. As for growing sperm from females, "we have evidence that it is possible, in the mouse at least". However, more work was required to confirm this. Prof Nayernia is concerned that the Government could outlaw treatments based on such work. A White Paper argued that the use of artificial gametes - eggs and sperm - would "raise profound new possibilities such as the possible creation of a child by combining the genetic material of two women". Prof Robin Lovell Badge, of the National Institute of Medical Research in Mill Hill, London, said there were fundamental reasons why female bone marrow could not be converted into sperm. Men have a Y and an X chromosome (bundles of genes in cells), whereas women have two X chromosomes. Prof Lovell Badge said that a Y was essential for sperm while having two X chromosomes was "incompatible with making sperm". "The only true defining feature of a germ cell is its ability to undergo meiosis - the form of cell division that leads to sperm or eggs having just one of each chromosome rather than a pair, as found in all other cells. The authors say they have not yet determined whether their cells can do this, but this is essential if they are to justify their claims." He said the paper contained "several misleading statements", cited a 2006 paper that was "questionable" and rested on the use of molecular markers to reveal the "putative" sperm cells, which is a long way from the ultimate test of using sperm made this way to create an offspring. Prof Harry Moore at the University of Sheffield said: "We need to be very cautious. Unfortunately, these stem cell manipulations can lead to permanent genetic changes, which would make them unsafe to use." Josephine Quintavalle of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, CORE, said: "How ironic that one of the few reproductive novelties the Government wants to ban is the very one that CORE could make a case for. But infertile men shouldn't get excited. There is far too much hype in this paper. As to growing sperm from women? As any A-level biology student would question, 'Where are they going to get the Y chromosome from?' "
now the world is just fucked up. lest just stick the the birds and bees as it was intended to be.... >_<
Wuehehe.... Now we dont need u guys anymore ....! U are really gonna have to beg for sex now (if ya havent already).... Nah just kidding... I prefer the natural way haha... weird to be pregnant of... urself?
^ lmao owned haha but still... what will the world be like if men must beg for sex? what if the world turns out to be that men can impregnant themselves.... EEWWWW id rather the sex lol
Wuahaha of course u do.... The prostitutes will make big cash and the poor men will become rapists :O Bet all the guys will vote that they wont support some kind of research?
This sounds almost like Junior Junior (1994) - Arnold Schwarzenegger, Danny DeVito© Copyright 1994 - Universal Pictures - All rights reserved.
^ lmao junior hahahaha that was a funny movie lol @MissAngieCheekS: nah. girls dont wanna be lesbians do they? girls are as hormone raged as men, but are just better at keeping it secret. they still want as much sex as men do -innocent2 oh and if poor men become rapists, all women are in danger lol theyll wanna abort this research too lmao
But how about young men who have undergone cancer treatments and can't have kids? Shouldn't they be given a change to become "real" fathers?
prolly ur joking but i just wanna be smartass.. having sex is of both sides... u dont have to beg for sex in a serious relationship..
^ i beg to differ. some men must beg virgins for sex, if their gf are virgins. some women must beg men for sex, cuz those men are "preoccupied" with work lol
Neah, you reach to little people, but if she does Playboy, she has bigger reach and men still get nothing ...
I think being lesbian is easier than have a relationship with a guy... Wish I was lesbian sometimes because I really dont understand what guys are thinking sometimes...and it drives me nuts Anyway... too bad... The last time i checked I was still straight! Hahaha... I am against this research anyway.... its weird...And yeah... we have needs too... but I know that guys need sex even more
