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Spanish scientists create sperm out of skin cells

researchResearch.Photo: Kent Skibstad / NTB scanpix

Researchers in Spain said on Wednesday that they have made human sperm from skin cells.  In the future this may be used to help childless couples conceive.

The researchers say that they have worked to find a solution for the 15 percent of couples worldwide who are unable to have children naturally and who have donated sperm or eggs as their only option.
The research has been made by the Institute for infertility in Valencia and the results were presented  at Stanford University in the US.
– We have been inspired by Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka and Britain’s John Gordon who in 2012 shared a Nobel Prize for their research on cells from adults which can be transformed into stem cells found in embryos, the institute’s research director Carlos Simon said.
The aim of the research project has been to turn skin cells into sperm by reprogramming them, but scientists have not yet managed to create fertile cells.
Last year, Chinese researchers informed that they had managed to create mice out of artificial sperm.
Researchers must adhere to legal guidelines because the techniques they use are only legal in some countries.
– This is a long process, Simon says.

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today