Have we thought this through properly?
The BBC is getting all excited about a new scientific breakthrough.
Scientists in Newcastle claim to have created human sperm in the laboratory in what they say is a world first.
They began with stem cell lines derived from human embryos donated following IVF treatment.
The stem cells had been removed when the embryo was a few days old and were stored in tanks of liquid nitrogen.
The stem cells were brought to body temperature and put in a chemical mixture to encourage them to grow. They were “tagged” with a genetic marker which enabled the scientists to identify and separate so-called “germline” stem cells from which eggs and sperm are developed.
The male, XY stem cells underwent the crucial process of “meiosis” – halving the number of chromosomes. The process over creating and developing the sperm took four to six weeks.
So let me get this straight. In order to help create a baby (which is what the point of having sperm is after all), you first create a baby (the embryo from which the stem cells are taken), you then murder that baby (by taking it apart to get the stem cells) and then you use those stem cells from the murdered baby to create sperm that *might* create another baby.
Am I the only person who sees the irony of this?
I guess it's man-made sperm as opposed to man-made sperm. Is this progress?
it's madness, you are right to point out the irony,
I do have monty python circling in my head now though…worrying!!
It would make more sense to use adult stem cells – especially as then the impotent father can pass on his genetic material (otherwise why not just use sperm donations if you want to do IVF). However, despite the ability to get stem cells fairly easily off adults (without killing them), we deliberately choose to kill babies to get the stem cells.
Either these biologists are deliberately being that sick and twisted, or they are blinded by Satan, hence why they can't get the irony.
I love it that stem cell 'research' involves doing pointless things like this, rather than the 'cure all diseases' that the scientists promised. At least the planned stem-cell blood (again, deliberately and pointlessly using embryos) has some point – a clean supply of O- blood, which would save lives and is in demand, especially in countries with high levels of AIDS.
Adult stem stells. That’s exactly what they should be using.
Like Father Andrew White in Baghdad suffering from MS who wouldn’t be allowed a parish in the UK but can run one in Iraq. He is now getting treatment from his own stem cells which he wouldn’t get it in the West and is feeling a whole lot better.
Very scary and quite the roundabout way to manipulate nature to do something it already had figured out.
I was under the impression (and I'm no scientist – so could be wrong), that it's also possible to get stem cells from the umbilical cord. We tried to donate the umbilical cord that came as a free gift with our most recent child for the purpose of stem cell research, but were told that the facilities were not available at the hospital we were at.
I also find it rather ironic that nature arranges to maintain a cap on population growth through processes such as infertility – yet here we are seeking to bypass yet another naturally-occurring barrier to destroying ourselves through over-population.