Researchers in Spain create sperm from skin cells, potentially ending male infertility
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Digital Light Microscope. (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)
A team of scientists in Spain confirmed they have successfully created human sperm from skin cells — a scientific breakthrough potentially ending male infertility.
Carlos Simón, the scientific director of the Valencian Infertility Institute, said his team was able to reorganize advanced skin cells by introducing a combination of genes needed to create gametes – the kind of cells that fuse with others during fertilization.
He said that within a month the skin cells were transformed into germ cells, which can develop into sperm or an egg, but they’re unable to fertilize.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"This is a sperm but it needs a further maturation phase to become a gamete. This is just the beginning," Simon told The Telegraph.
Between 3 and 7 percent of couples worldwide suffer from reproductive issues.
The research was conducted in connection with Stanford University and published on Tuesday in Scientific Reports, the online journal of Nature.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The research follows Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka and Britain’s John Gordon, who were awarded the 2012 Nobel Prize for their work on adult cells used to create embryo-like stem cells.
In February 2016, a team of scientists from China announced they created healthy mouse babies by injecting lab-made sperm into eggs.
The Spanish team says there’s still a long way to go in their work.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“With the human species we must do much more testing because we are talking about the birth of child," Simon told the Telegraph.