Sperm Made From Female Bone Marrow

[dairygirl4u2c]

[quote]"British scientists have discovered a way to turn female bone marrow into sperm, allowing women to reproduce without the need of male companionship. All children born of this method would be female, due the lack Y chromosomes, and there is high chance of birth defects. Eggs also can be created from male bone marrow, but men looking to reproduce would still need to find a surrogate mother to handle the gestation period. I'd like to take a moment to welcome our new amazonian overlords and remind them that men are still very good at mowing lawns and fixing cars."[/quote]

[quote]Death of the father: British scientists discover how to turn women's bone marrow into sperm


Bye bye baby: The new science means the biological role of the father is under threat
British scientists are ready to turn female bone marrow into sperm, cutting men out of the process of creating life.

The breakthrough paves the way for lesbian couples to have children that are biologically their own.

Gay men could follow suit by using the technique to make eggs from male bone marrow.

Researchers at Newcastle upon Tyne University say their technique will help lead to new treatments for infertility.

But critics warn that it sidelines men and raises the prospect of babies being born through entirely artificial means.

The research centres around stem cells - the body's 'mother' cells which can turn into any other type of cell.

According to New Scientist magazine, the scientists want to take stem cells from a woman donor's bone marrow and transform them into sperm through the use of special chemicals and vitamins.

Newcastle professor Karim Nayernia has applied for permission to carry out the work and is ready to start the experiments within two months.

The biologist, who pioneered the technique with mice, believes early- stage 'female sperm' could be produced inside two years. Mature sperm capable of fertilising eggs might take three more years.

Early-stage sperm have already been produced from male bone marrow.

Taking stem cells from an adult donor - possibly a cancer patient - removes the ethical problems associated with using embryos.

The race to find a cure for infertility is global.

Greg Aharonian, a U.S. analyst who is trying to patent the technologies behind female sperm and male eggs, said he wants to undermine the argument that heterosexual marriage is superior because it is aimed at procreation. "I'm a troublemaker," he said.

Researchers at the Butantan Institute in Brazil, meanwhile, claim to have turned embryonic stem cells from male mice into both sperm and eggs. They are now working on skin cells.

If their experiments succeed, the stage would be set for a gay man to donate skin cells that could be used to make eggs.

These could then be fertilised by his partner's sperm and placed into the womb of a surrogate mother.

Irina Kerkis, a researcher at the Brazilian centre, said this development is possible, but raises ethical questions.

Laboratory-grown sperm and eggs offer hope for those left infertile by radiotherapy treatment when they were young.

The experiments could also provide an invaluable insight into dealing with infertility, a little understood condition that affects one in six couples.

Other scientists warn however that the research is still in its infancy and any treatment is still many years away from use in hospitals and clinics.

There are also fears that children born from artificial eggs and sperm will suffer severe health problems, like the mice in the Newcastle experiments.

Couples who have children from artificial sperm created from women would be able to have girls only. This is because the female sperm would lack the Y-chromosome needed for boys.

Robin Lovell-Badge, of the National Institute for Medical Research in London, said the creation of female sperm is at least a decade away.

Josephine Quintavalle, of Comment on Reproductive Ethics, a campaign group, said: "We are looking at absurd solutions to very obscure situations and not addressing the main issue. Nobody is interested in looking at what is causing infertility - social reasons such as obesity, smoking and age.

"All these things would provide solutions which wouldn't grab the headlines, but a lot more people would get the response they want - which is to be able to have their own children."

Mike Judge, of the Christian Institute faith group, said the Newcastle project flies in the face of research showing that children do best when raised by a married mixed- sex couple.

"Children need male and female role models in their lives," he added. "Yes, there are children raised by single parents through all sorts of circumstances, but when you are talking about deliberately creating children in that way, that is morally wrong."

Debra Matthews, a U.S. bioethicist, said: "People want children and no one wants anyone else to tell them they can't have them."

An update of Britain's ageing fertility laws is going through Parliament and is likely to allow the use of artificial sperm and eggs in IVF treatment - but only for heterosexual couples.

The Newcastle research also paves the way for a woman to grow her own sperm and use it to fertilise her natural eggs, creating a child to which she is both mother and father.

Similarly, a man could be both father and mother to a child created with his own sperm and a lab-grown egg. Such children would be at high risk of genetic abnormality.[/quote]

[jeffpugh]

Wow. Women couldn't replace men, though. It would be quite the one-sided world.

[Luthien]

No matter what people say, there will always be a need for male/female companionship. Its the way God created us. It seems odd to me that they are pushing this so much, mostly because of the extremely high risk of abnormalities in the baby.
When will people realize that Natures Way-God's Way is the best way? We don't always like it, but isn't that how mankind has survived this long?

[XIX]

Bah. I'm not into asexual reproduction. Asexual reproduction is for amoebas.




I'll just have to find and marry a woman who agrees with me.

[CatherineM]

I suspect the first people to line up for this will be lesbian couples. If we got rid of men, I wouldn't have anyone to stomp on spiders for me.

[Jaime]

I think the original way of making babies still sounds more fun

[Deb]

Definitely!

The very idea kind of makes me sick. (I am referring to turning bone marrow into sperm)

[CatherineM]

How would you figure out what to put on the birth certificate.

[CatholicCid]

Mother - Jane Doe
Father - Her left elbow joint

[Jaime]

"Your daughter is so humerous"

"She gets that from her dad"

[missionseeker]

[quote name='hot stuff' post='1454675' date='Feb 2 2008, 08:27 PM']"Your daughter is so humerous"

"She gets that from her dad"[/quote]




wow this is so sad.

[XIX]

This is absolutely pathetic.

[-I---Love]

[quote name='CatholicCid' post='1454671' date='Feb 2 2008, 08:22 PM']Mother - Jane Doe
Father - Her left elbow joint[/quote]

hahaha brilliant!

[Farsight one]

[quote]British scientists have discovered a way to turn female bone marrow into sperm, allowing women to reproduce without the need of male companionship.[/quote]
Well, that depends. Are the scientists male?

[Starets]

I'd like to think that there is more to being a father than just being in the room when the baby is conceived.