Scientists in Germany and Israel have successfully grown mouse sperm in a laboratory, opening up the future possibility to grow human sperm from the cells of infertile men.
According to the science journal Nature , researchers were able to grow sperm by using germ cells, which are responsible for sperm reproduction in the testicles.
Researchers decided the best way to replicate sperm grow was to create an environment similar to the testicles.
They placed the germ cells inside an agar jelly compound not unlike the inside of the male reproductive organ, and watched them grow.
Stephen Gordon, a male infertility consultant, praised the experiment’s results, calling it a discovery that could revolutionize fertility treatment.
“Infertile men naturally want to be the father of their child but at present have to accept that can’t happen,” he told The Telegraph. “With the mouse discovery, that could now be a possibility.”
What just occurs to me is that it seems that 99% of infertility treatment stuff seems to be aimed at women, and it takes two to tango, as it were. Still, being able to grow and harvest viable sperm from testicular cells seems like a pretty significant breakthrough if the process can be adapted to humans. Keep kicking ass, Science!
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