BF2S Forums A world where women are the own daughter's father...Stem Cells

Technology Review wrote:

For couples who can't seem to get pregnant, one of the more common causes is egg or sperm quality: sperm that never make it to the egg or that can't fertilize it once they're there, and eggs that resist fertilization or implantation in the uterine wall. Now, for the first time, scientists have turned adult cells into egg- and sperm-cell precursors, an achievement that could one day help infertile couples conceive a child that shares their DNA.

Amanda Clark, a developmental biologist at the University of California, Los Angeles, created the egg and sperm precursors using an existing line of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells, so named for their ability to turn into just about any tissue type and lauded for their potential in regenerative medicine. Until now, however, no one had shown that it was possible to prod iPS cells to rewind their internal clocks all the way back to the gamete, or "germ cell," stage.

Researchers had previously shown that embryonic stem cells could produce egg- and sperm-cell precursors. But infertile couples would need to use donor eggs or sperm obtained from infertility clinics. "The benefit of using an iPS cell is that it has the donor's own genetics," Clark says. "Our research is many, many, many years away from generating a cell type that would be capable of fertilization and, therefore, making a healthy child. But this is one of the first steps."