The breakthrough could lead to future treatments for infertility (and a lot of controversy)
Posted 02.27.2012 at 12:30 pm
24 Comments
The Human Ovum
via Wikimedia
The conventional line of thinking says that women can produce only a finite number of egg cells over their lifetimes. Some researchers dispute this, but a new study suggests that it might not matter. Researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital claim they have isolated stem cells from human ovaries and used them to generate egg cells in the lab, a breakthrough that could someday lead to new infertility treatments.
Those treatments are a long way off, but the finding is nonetheless pretty huge. It means that not only could stem cells be isolated from women with fertility problems to produce eggs in the lab, but that biologists could gain whole new insights into the way fertility works--how eggs are impacted by things like nutrition and pharmaceuticals.
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Science, Clay Dillow, biology, health, human egg cells, human reproduction, medicine, reproductive medicineBut it was unclear if the same technique would work with humans. To find out, a team of researchers obtained reproductive stem cells donated by Japanese women undergoing gender reassignment because of gender identity disorder. From these stem cells, the team was able to generate immature egg cells that showed the properties of human eggs. The researchers then placed the stem cells into human ovarian tissue and placed that into mice. Within a couple of weeks, these cells generated the proper ovarian structures for producing eggs, as well as egg cells that appear healthy and ready for fertilization.
Of course, there’s no telling yet whether that’s really the case. In the U.S., researchers aren’t allowed to fertilize human eggs in the lab just to see what happens, and there’s no guarantee that a lab-grown cell wouldn’t develop some kind of abnormality (actually, this happens a lot). Initial use of the technique would be to create eggs for research use in the lab (sans fertilization of course). But fertility treatments, while on the distant horizon, aren’t out of the question at some point in the future.
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Funny to think there are hundreds of abortions every day when some people would give anything to be able to have a child
calebascape808,
Despite what you just said and everything else that is wrong on Earth and killing humans in general, our population growth is no danger of slowing down and by the year the year 2050 we will be at 9 billion peoples.
And rather a quick death by abortion, a greater number of people on Earth will suffer longer in life and have slower types of death.
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Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
wow robot way to look at the glass half full...I hope that we have free energy and abundent food for all...the more the better
Delkomatic,
If the percentage of population continues to grow, does the quality of life improve or do we just have more of everything?
Today we have 7 people, 5 enjoying a good life and 2 who do not. In the future we have 9 people, 6 people with good life and 3 people who do not. So my statement of more people suffering at the percentage of population growth becomes true.
Are we the human race making life better for the people on earth as the population continues to grow? Hoping for free energy is highly unlikely and more abundant food is likely along with more pollution in our food and environment too.
If you truly want a brighter future, you can't hope for it. You must face and deal with life’s problems head on, realistically!
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
I guess you missed the point i was making but thats cool
@Robot, I take it when (if) the earth's population reaches the tipping point you will be the first to volunteer to give up your life?
does this reasorch prove that the chicken came first? Looks like the stem-cell (chicken) was first before the egg.
Although this stem-cell came from an adult mice, you know someone will try the following:
human egg --> embryo --> stem-cell --> egg
so in the process of creating this new egg, we will use up a good human egg and will kill a baby.
Tygrys,
LOL, thanks for the love man!
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
Strangely, I the Human Ovum familiar, Omnipotent and all at the same time beautifully Matriarchal!
I long for December 21st 2012!
You may not relies it but the global standard of living is increasing; the conveniences of yesterday are the necessities of today. Homeless people in have cellphones, food is cheap and abundant you can get a pack or ramen for $0.15 and bulk rice is $0.25/lb. We feed more corn to cows and pigs than people and palm oil is harvested to fuel cars that could run off natural gas. Look at the eocean epoch for a worst case global warming scenario, the entire earth was paradise with nearly 100% farmable land mas. One teaspoon of thorium contains a lifetimes energy supply.
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This is the future and its great!
This is great! This is just another example of the many great potentials of stem cells. Clinical trials of this breakthrough should have started a long time ago! Private investors need to help out with companies trying to get stem cell therapies into clinical testing. Stem cells have the potential to cure millions of Americans and even much more people outside the U.S. from diseases of all kinds including cancer! Stem cells are a wonder cure that are long overdue in going through clinical trials. Lack of funds seem to be the main cause of this, so people really should help out if they can. They would be seen as heroes in the eyes of practically everyone!
adaptation,
When you go shopping for your tea, what brand do you buy; I surely like to buy some of that same tea. You seem to take venturous verbose trips..
@robot i think that you forget that when all else fails we are humans. we are much more resilient than people give us credit for; over population is something that we've been bereaved about since before the united states was a country. this is nothing so totally new that we can't push through it. there will always be farms and as long as there are humans who want to eat there will always be some kind of plant that we can chew on at least. don't be afraid, one way or another this will literally solve itself: either we'll make enough food to feed the entire population of earth or we'll see the need to send people off on colony ships. and if that doesn't happen then eventually when enough of us starve off we'll achieve some kind of equilibrium.
it'll be just like in the old days when people ate what they grew and sold what they didn't eat.
as for the article it's about bloody time!
to mars or bust!
@ghost
The bit with the colony ships is... doubtful. To make a dent in the global population, you'd need ships that can carry(and keep alive) millions or tens of millions of people.And lots of them. That is a fantasy, and nothing more. For now, anyway.
We're gonna hit that catastrophic population count much sooner than we'll reach the ability to build those ships. I think eugenics and X-number child policies are the way to go. Much more effective and cheaper.
Personally I'm enthusiastic about this headway. Its great to hear that our species is growing closer and closer to these types of bio technology, its very encouraging. I don't agree with the rules governing fertilization as I see it as a huge scientific damper, but you can't seem to please everyone so sometimes in our history we have to take it slower than we should.
Still, right on!
Those of you who read my words with negativity or pessimism comes from inside yourselves, I never said that.
I said do not hope in the manner dreaming does not get the job done. Meaning if you are a person who lives in fantasy of life, wearing blinders everything is going to be ok and complacent to the bad things that are currently going on in the world, for you, the bad things will just continue or get worse.
I then ended my comments above early to face life head on and deal with our problems and be realistic.
For those people who actually face and deal with their own problems in their lives, actually have fewer problems, simply because they fixed them. This is an optimistic and positive statement!
Our problems on Earth can only become fewer in quantity, if we honestly face those issues as our population continues to grow. Hoping and fantasizing will not get the job done. I am just saying be mature and realistic and face lifes problems with solutions!
.............................
Science sees no further than what it can sense.
Religion sees beyond the senses.
Abortion is murder. So many women walking around with graveyards in their bellies. Why? Because they are afraid, and fear is the path to the darkside. Life starts at conception. My wife and I are expecting our first child. He/She is only 7 weeks old at this time. But he/she is alive, and we pray that it will be healthy. Everyone we know is excited and happy for us. How someone can kill a baby after its 12 weeks old and fully has a brain and a heart and fingers and toes is beyond me. Now you have these psychopaths wanting to fertilize eggs just so they can kill them and harvest them. It’s not worth it to kill a life just to safe another.
Also there is no such thing as overpopulation, it’s a lie…a very big lie. Made to scare the sheep. The earth can support 1 trillion people plus. We just have to learn how to live with one another.
@robot...
dude, yeah cool story about not enough energy and stuff but fusion will be here soon.
Oh and about population stuff you said...
If human can, human will do... earth will stabilise at it 10Biz in 2200... its fine... if we will colonise mars or whatever, itll give some more room, and i think humans are always using free stuff ^^ we like it, just admit it, dont be a robot ;)
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bored? lets go mine the stars... ^^
Finally women wont have to complain about being stronger than men because they went through child birth! now babies can be grown in labs. like the matrix. I personally do think it would be such a bad idea. less fear of getting pregnant= more sex :)
a little closer to human engineering. illegal, immoral, whatever.doesnt mean it wont happen. designer soldiers for the military will be the first step. later will come private sector applications. children with genes picked from menu, then run through a computer to see an approximate aging process of your child. checked for any defects and given a money back warranty on your kid. on a large scale this could enhance the human race or hinder it.
height of arnold schwarzenegger, add in the double muscle gene variance, activate more muscle fibers gene variance, super endurance gene variance, and increased flexibility gene variance and u got the body of a soldier that would terrify an enemy in combat.
@ Aldron's Last Hope
Embryonic stem cells can be made from leftover embryos from in vitro fertility treatments. These embryos are either thrown away or stored for much longer than their shelf life. An estimated four hundred thousand embryos are leftover in the United States alone. Over a hundred million people in this world are suffering from diseases. These embryos that are going to go to waste anyways can be used to cure these people from their suffering. These people deserve the opportunity to live a healthy life. After all, you only get one life.
Actually, I meant to put that over a hundred million people in the United States are suffering from diseases. There's a lot more in the rest of the world.
When the sperm and egg come together and the zygote with a unique DNA is formed, it is 'human' only because the sequence of the letters ATGC along the helix will result in a human if put in a substantially supporting chemical environment. But at that stage it is still just pure information making it 'human'. And it's all 98% identical to a monkey or any primte at that time, and indeed a full 68% identical to plant life. All your stuff about spirits and souls is only so you can help not be depressed about your own mortality. Get over it. Life is chemical patterns that replicate. No evidence exists for anything more. You spent the first half of eternity in a state of 'non-existence' and you will spend the second half of eternity in the same 'state', non existence. Get over it. It's not gonna hurt a bit!
I've been searching for this Stem Cell for a long time , I'm so much amazed on every one's stories from the news and sites on how stem cells has help them recovered on any type of sicknesses and diseases, even cancer can be cured by this type of treatment. One big factor is that it's not a drug but it will just treat your body in a nice and natural way your body could do to fix them. Stem Cells therapy is nice until i found this Laminine on the Market. People keeps on talking about it saying its the new science breakthrough that I should give a try. It's not a literal stem cell but it is a Stem Cell enhancer, safer than the usual way of Stem Cell Therapy. I found the amazing info at
http://supplementsfood.com - Promotes Laminine
and I gave it a try and in just a few weeks I felt its proven power that I also recommend to every one out there. Thanks!