Might this turn the gay-marriage debate on its head?
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...cle2444462.ece
Quote:
Women might soon be able to produce sperm in a development that could allow lesbian couples to have their own biological daughters, according to a pioneering study published today.
Scientists are seeking ethical permission to produce synthetic sperm cells from a woman's bone marrow tissue after showing that it possible to produce rudimentary sperm cells from male bone-marrow tissue.
The researchers said they had already produced early sperm cells from bone-marrow tissue taken from men. They believe the findings show that it may be possible to restore fertility to men who cannot naturally produce their own sperm.
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So it's a fertility treatment, that just happens to allow lesbians to conceive a child biologically related to both parents. It's also part of a larger effort to take bone marrow stem cells and try to coax them to differentiate into different kinds of cells.
It won't work for gay male couples, because they lack ovaries and eggs.
Also, because of the lack of a Y chromosome, all children of such unions will be female.
The science is still very young; they haven't actually made viable sperm yet.