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UK scientists create human sperm for the first time
LONDON: In a breakthrough that could lead to new treatment for male infertility, scientists in Britain claim to have created human sperm using stem
cells in a technique that could revolutionise fertility treatment.
Researchers at the Northeast England Stem Cell Institute, who made the breakthrough using cells from an embryo, said that with some minor changes, the sperm could theoretically fertilise an egg to create a child.
They hoped that within ten years the technique could be used to allow infertile couples to have children that were generally their own. It could even be possible to create sperm from female stem cells which could mean a woman having a baby without the help of a man.
The announcement from the Institute, which is made up of Newcastle and Durham Universities and Newcastle National Health Service Foundation, marked the first time human sperm had been created in a laboratory and threatened to reopen the fierce debate over embryo research. It was reported in the journal Stem Cells and Development.
Led by Professor Karim Nayernia, researchers developed a method of growing early stage sperm from human embryonic stem cells by using retinoic acid, a vitamin A derivative.