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back to article German boffins make sperm cells from bone marrow

Scientists in Germany have managed to coax stem cells drawn from bone marrow to grow into immature sperm cells. The team says if these so-called spermatagonial cells can be matured, the work would have massive implications for fertility treatments. The research team isolated mesenchymal stem cells from samples of bone marrow …

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  1. Mike

    sperm cells

    Heh, heh, from bone marrow you say.

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  2. Mr D

    Its taken all this time...

    But the egg issue still remains and I imagine creating one of those to be beyond reach at the moment! I guess its half a problem solved though !

    Mind you, all that research to produce sperm, and here's me sitting here producing the little swimmers quite happily as I sit at my desk at work....

    Could they produce these cells from female bone marrow? What would happen then ? Scary stuff...

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  3. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Best Register Subtitle

    childish yes, but enough to make a grown man giggle like a girl in a full office.

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  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    all that worry over nothing

    I just can't overcome my boredom over "abuses" of cloning. I mean really, armies of perfect soldiers, clones of Hitler, picking sex of children. It will be possible, but never very likely.

    If I want to have children, I can spend many dollars sorting semen to get specific sex sperm, then ask my wife to undergo the Turkey Baster of Determination (a.k.a. artificial insemination). But there's a rather more pleasant and less expensive way of getting a child with randomly sorted chromosomes that I can practice (and practice and practice) right at home..

    That army of perfect soldiers needs an army of mothers to birth it, and 18 years to raise and train it, even if you are willing to accept imperfect officers (like most armies). Cloning is the least offensive part of this plan. Even Hitler's clone will be just a pink pudgy baby with a silly mustache. It might rather be a musician than take over the world. Stupid baby.

    Why one act of (pro)creation is natural, while another one is offensive to god and ethics is just not clear.

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