Scientists Create Human Sperm from Stem Cells

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: Time

Researchers at Newcastle University in England report they have coaxed the first human sperm cells from embryonic stem cells, in a remarkable demonstration of how quickly the field of stem-cell science is moving.

The achievement, described in the journal Stem Cells and Development, comes just 11 years after the first human-embryonic-stem-cell line was created — an eyeblink in scientific terms — in the lab of James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin.
(See the top 10 scientific discoveries of 2008.)


Although the development once again raises the specter of creating humans in a petri dish or custom-designing egg and sperm cells for reproduction, lead author Karim Nayernia says that was not his team's intention. Rather, the experiment was a proof of concept that stem cells can generate any cell in the body — not only the dozens of tissues that make up the human body but also those egg and sperm cells that may give rise to altogether new bodies. "Other cell types don't generate the next generation," says Nayernia, a professor of stem-cell biology at Newcastle University. "This makes a very big difference between our study and the study of other cell types from embryonic stem cells."

Nayernia's in vitro–derived sperm, or IVD sperm, are not exactly like naturally occurring sperm, though they do bear four important similarities to the cells created in the testes. They contain half the number of chromosomes of other human cells (somatic cells contain 46 chromosomes, but egg and sperm cells have only 23, since they combine their genetic payloads during fertilization); they possess a head and a tail; they contain proteins essential for activating the egg during fertilization; and they swim, or move as sperm do in seeking out eggs to fertilize.



Read more: http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1909164,00.html

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

1. So does that mean we no longer need men?

[kestrel91316]

5. That would be correct. I'm not sure what else to say.......

[Deja Q]

8. So will the peaceful women kill off all the men?

Or will they sit back and laugh it up with some Mike... I mean Michelle's Hard Lemonade and watch us all merrily kill each other?

[kestrel91316]

19. In Sherri Tepper's The Gate To Women's Country, though they did not

create sperm independent of men, they DID let the violent men kill each other off, and secretly use only the peaceful men as sperm donors. I though it intriguing, lol.

[rosesaylavee]

28. I liked that book. A lot.

:evilgrin:

[aquart]

27. Can sperm put up shelves and carry packages?

Can sperm kill bugs? I'm talking really large bugs.

[undeterred]

11. You took the words right out of my mouth.

Maybe we can cook them up for dinner.

[Xipe Totec]

15. Did you ever? n/t

[DUlover2909]

21. Look up Valerie Solanas SCUM Manifesto. It's funny.

She must be so happy up there in Heaven.

[OswegoAtheist]

30. Of course you'll need men

Who will kill the spiders if they can't?

Oswego "of course, this is :sarcasm: " Atheist

[FiveGoodMen]

2. And now each and every one of them will have to be united with an egg

or the Pope will be upset.

[hedgehog]

3. Well that's a relief! I didn't know what humanity was going to do

considering the shortage!

[Deja Q]

10. Well, we all know what they'll do now: Make ShrinkyDinks... it's a magical world, after all...

[BlooInBloo]

4. I can do that for a lot cheaper.

[Deja Q]

9. I can do it faster.

:P

[Life Long Dem]

6. If they could use DNA, then you would be talking.

[shadowknows69]

7. Well. That's it then.

It was a good run while it lasted guys.

[Ferretherder]

12. Except that, with a little more time,...

...they will develope EGGS from stem cells, .....

....and, well,........

.....whadda they need any of us for?











...just askin'.

By the way, I'm a VERY strong proponent of stem cell research,.......

....just so you know.

[shadowknows69]

13. The machines that take over will still need us for batteries

[FailureToCommunicate]

26. "Resistance is futile. We are BORG"

[shadowknows69]

17. That bizarre science fiction scenario was the first thing to jump into my head too.

The "Elite/billionaires club/corpotocracy" could hide in their bunkers while the rest of us inferior peasants die due to wars/starvation/global warming et al. And then they can rebuild the population to their preferred numbers. Just enough for workers for the service industries I expect.

[NashVegas]

14. Of Course They'll Be Patented, And Natural Sperm Pushed Out (So to Speak) of the Reproductive Market

I'm only half-joking, you know.

But what with DNA breakdown, marijuana usage, long distance cycling, etc., etc., "real" sperm is going to take a hit from the PR department in the near future.

Yes, you should be fucking scared. Corporations have the means to control our food supply, and as soon as they can get an artificial womb going, corps will have the means and financial motivation to control reproduction.

Aldous Huxley was so fucking right.

[Baclava]

16. Bow down

Every sperm is sacred,
Every sperm is great.
If a sperm is wasted,
God gets quite irate.


YOU WILL BE ASSIMILATED

[Deja Q]

18. Is that diagram showing which bits rotate?

[Baclava]

23. "A great deal of phenomenal experience has fostered in me a flexibility of the mind and imagination

Odd Thomas

[xchrom]

20. well -- isn't that interesting. nt

[Mz Pip]

22. Just what we need

...more sperm. :eyes:

[TankLV]

24. egg zactly...!!!

[Baclava]

25. I feel the heat from your nether parts...coo coo ca choo

Hide it in a hiding place where no one ever goes
Put it in your pantry with your cupcakes
It's a little secret, just the Robinsons' affair
Most of all, you've got to hide it from the kids
Coo coo ca choo Mrs Robinson

--Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs. Robinson"

[Psephos]

29. Wrong. Scientists caused stem cells to create pseudo-sperm. Big difference. n/t