Mums could be dads
Jane Metlikovec
April 14, 2007 12:00am
WOMEN might one day be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological children.
German scientists have manipulated human stem cells, extracted from bone marrow, into immature sperm cells.
The researchers hope to use the technique to grow fully developed sperm within five years.
They say this may lead to ground-breaking fertility treatment for thousands of men, including cancer patients left sterile by chemotherapy.
But the technique, which could also be adapted to counter female infertility by growing eggs in a lab, raises the prospect of children being born through entirely artificial means.
If it were abused, men could be sidelined.
But Australian Stem Cell Centre chief executive Stephen Livesey said the research was in its early stages, and it was premature to suggest the technique could make men redundant.
"Australia supports a ban on reproductive cloning, and even if the technology could be misused there are controls in place in Australia to ensure it would not be," Prof Livesey said.
"This technique could benefit infertile males, and to say it could make men redundant is fairly shallow."
Sources: Mums could be dads
Other related news:
Women to self-create