This is freaking cool. British researchers, led by an Iranian researcher, say they’ve managed to turn bone-marrow cells into “early-stage sperm.” This could allow men with fertility problems to create sperm. But Karim Nayernia and his team also hope to be able to grow sperm from women’s bone marrow. Their technique works by isolating a “parent cell” from bone marrow, and then persuading “the sperm cells to develop.” The result is called “spermatogonial” stem cells. These should be able to morph into full-blown sperm in men, but this experiment didn’t go the full distance. But caution is indicated:
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…
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?’ ”
I read this, too, and didn’t get this statement:
“As any A-level biology student would question, ‘Where are they going to get the Y chromosome from?’ ”
Why on earth do you need a Y chromosome? Half of all sperm have no Y chromosome. If you’re determined to give birth to a boy, sure. But that can’t possibly describe all woman-only couples who want to conceive.
Interesting stuff!