First sperm are grown in lab
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Infertile men have received new hope of fathering children after scientists grew mammalian sperm in a laboratory for the first time.
A team from Japan developed sperm from fragments of testes from mice and used them to fertilise eggs from which healthy, fertile young were born.
"I want to apply our method to other species including humans. The sperm produced in our system should be safe," said Dr Takehiko Ogawa of Yokohama City University.
The research team, reporting their results in the journal Nature, said the success of the mouse sperm held out the promise of discovering new techniques for male infertility.
Dr Allan Pacey, of the University of Sheffield, said success in mice was no guarantee it could be matched in humans but added: "This study is a small but important step in understanding how sperm are formed which may, in time, lead to us being able to routinely grow human sperm in the laboratory."
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments