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Boy will this upset the anti-gays Ray ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Cottingham" <[log in to unmask]> To: <[log in to unmask]> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 10:04 PM Subject: Study: Stem Cells Could Develop Into Eggs > The source of this article is AP: http://tinyurl.com/cose6 > > Study: Stem Cells Could Develop Into Eggs By EMMA ROSS, AP Medical Writer > 2 hours, 50 minutes ago > > Scientists in Britain have shown that stem cells extracted from human > embryos can develop in the laboratory into the early forms of cells that > become eggs or sperm. The research raises the possibility that one day > eggs and sperm needed for infertility treatment could be grown in a dish. > > Preliminary experiments also suggest that scientists may eventually be > able to use the technique to create a supply of eggs for cloning. > > But the more immediate benefit of the work could be a better understanding > of why some men and women do not create their own sperm or eggs and > whether toxic chemicals in the environment play a role, one of the > researchers said before the start of the annual conference of the European > Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology. The findings were scheduled > to be presented Monday in Copenhagen. > > "It may allow us to investigate the very earliest processes of how a human > (ovary and testis) develops," said Harry Moore, a professor of > reproductive and developmental medicine at Sheffield University in > England. > > Many scientists believe that chemical pollutants, such as pesticides, that > mimic the action of hormones, might interfere with human development at > the stage where eggs and sperm - called germ cells - are forming and that > this disruption may cause birth abnormalities, infertility and possibly > cancer. > > "By developing suitable tests with embryonic stem cells as they > differentiate into germ cells, we can investigate the action of these > chemicals in the laboratory," Moore said. > > Stem cells are the master cells of the body, appearing when embryos are > just a few days old and developing into every type of cell and tissue in > the body, including sperm and eggs. > > Scientists can study the stem cells by extracting them from the embryo. If > the researchers create the embryo by cloning a cell from a patient, any > resulting cells would be a genetic match to the patient. > > The cloning technique, called cell nuclear replacement, involves emptying > out the genetic material in an egg and replacing it with the genetic > material of another cell, for example a skin cell from an adult. Instead > of being fertilized by sperm, the newly reconstituted egg is bathed in > chemical nutrients and electrocuted to shock it into dividing. It then > evolves into an embryo, from which stem cells can be extracted. > > For infertile couples, that approach would eliminate the need for donor > sperm or eggs. > > But any treatment using eggs and sperm grown from stem cells, let alone > from stem cells extracted from a cloned embryo, may be many years away, > Moore said. > > "We would need to prove that sperm or eggs produced in this way were safe > before we could contemplate using them to treat patients," he said. > > Other experts said the advance from the University of Sheffield could also > raise some ethical issues. > > "It opens new and challenging possibilities: because the technique can be > used to generate eggs from a man's (adult) cells, gay couples could have > children genetically related to both," said Anna Smajdor, a medical > ethicist at Imperial College in London. > > "These possibilities raise new questions about how we define parenthood > and about how we decide who has access to these new technologies," she > said. > > Copyright © 2005 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The > information contained in the AP News report may not be published, > broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority > of The Associated Press. > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn