Posted on Sep 28, 2023
Japanese scientists race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab
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https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2023/09/28/ [login to see] /japanese-scientists-race-to-create-human-eggs-and-sperm-in-the-lab
Katsuhiko Hayashi pulls a clear plastic dish from an incubator and slides it under a microscope.
"You really want to see the actual cells, right?" Hayashi asks as he motions toward the microscope.
Hayashi, a developmental geneticist at Osaka University in Japan, is a pioneer in one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG.
The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. Besides the technical challenges that remain to be overcome, there are deep ethical concerns about how IVG might eventually be used.
Katsuhiko Hayashi pulls a clear plastic dish from an incubator and slides it under a microscope.
"You really want to see the actual cells, right?" Hayashi asks as he motions toward the microscope.
Hayashi, a developmental geneticist at Osaka University in Japan, is a pioneer in one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG.
The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. Besides the technical challenges that remain to be overcome, there are deep ethical concerns about how IVG might eventually be used.
Japanese scientists race to create human eggs and sperm in the lab
Posted from npr.org
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Posted 7 mo ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."Hayashi, a developmental geneticist at Osaka University in Japan, is a pioneer in one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG.
The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. Besides the technical challenges that remain to be overcome, there are deep ethical concerns about how IVG might eventually be used.
To provide a sense of how close IVG may be to becoming a reality, Hayashi and one of his colleagues in Japan recently agreed to let NPR visit their labs to talk about their research.
"Applying this kind of technology to the human is really important," Hayashi says. "I really, really get excited about that."
From mice to humans
Through the microscope, the cells in Hayashi's dish look like shimmering silver blobs. They're a type of stem cell known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS.
"[The] iPS cells actually form a kind of island — they grow while touching each other," Hayashi says. "So they look like an island."
IPS cells can be made from any cell in the body and then theoretically can morph into any other kind of cell. This versatility could one day help scientists solve a long list of medical problems.
Hayashi was the first to figure out how to use iPS cells to make one of the first big breakthroughs in IVG: He turned skin cells from the tails of mice into iPS cells that he then turned into mouse eggs.
Hayashi takes another rectangular dish from the incubator to explain how he did it. The dish contains ovarian organoids — structures he created that can nurture cells made from iPS cells into becoming fully mature eggs.
Under the microscope, each egg looks like a glowing blue ball. Dozens are clearly visible."...
..."Hayashi, a developmental geneticist at Osaka University in Japan, is a pioneer in one of the most exciting — and controversial — fields of biomedical research: in vitro gametogenesis, or IVG.
The goal of IVG is to make unlimited supplies of what Hayashi calls "artificial" eggs and sperm from any cell in the human body. That could let anyone — older, infertile, single, gay, trans — have their own genetically related babies. Besides the technical challenges that remain to be overcome, there are deep ethical concerns about how IVG might eventually be used.
To provide a sense of how close IVG may be to becoming a reality, Hayashi and one of his colleagues in Japan recently agreed to let NPR visit their labs to talk about their research.
"Applying this kind of technology to the human is really important," Hayashi says. "I really, really get excited about that."
From mice to humans
Through the microscope, the cells in Hayashi's dish look like shimmering silver blobs. They're a type of stem cell known as induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS.
"[The] iPS cells actually form a kind of island — they grow while touching each other," Hayashi says. "So they look like an island."
IPS cells can be made from any cell in the body and then theoretically can morph into any other kind of cell. This versatility could one day help scientists solve a long list of medical problems.
Hayashi was the first to figure out how to use iPS cells to make one of the first big breakthroughs in IVG: He turned skin cells from the tails of mice into iPS cells that he then turned into mouse eggs.
Hayashi takes another rectangular dish from the incubator to explain how he did it. The dish contains ovarian organoids — structures he created that can nurture cells made from iPS cells into becoming fully mature eggs.
Under the microscope, each egg looks like a glowing blue ball. Dozens are clearly visible."...
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
Ian Malcolm gives Hammond an ethics lecture
this is the lunch scene from Jurassic Park in which Jeff Goldblum's character voices his objections to what the parks genetic engineers are doing as well as ...
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"there are deep ethical concerns about how IVG might eventually be used."
Yeah, the last thing we need is a bunch more Kardashians running around!
Yeah, the last thing we need is a bunch more Kardashians running around!
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