In the coming years, technology could change the way babies are produced. Sex as we know it could end as there could be a much safer and easier way to reproduce.
Developing Technologies for Reproduction
Humans have always created embryos and babies in the traditional, random way - through sex. Then, experts discovered artificial insemination, which led to the development of in vitro fertilization.
Modifying an embryo's DNA is one of the technologies that could end reproduction as we know it. This involves targeted editing of particular sequences in a cell's DNA using CRISPR. In November 2018, Chinese scientist He Jiankui announced the birth of two girls whose embryos were 'CRISPRed' in his laboratory.
Another technology that could change reproduction is the development of artificial wombs. In 2017, scientists reported keeping neonatal lambs in fluid-filled plastic bags. In effect, these devices are early incubators. This means the baby would still need to have spent four and a half months developing inside a female body.
There is also a proposal to make a 'true' artificial uterus that can take a six- or seven-day embryo and help it develop over nine months into a healthy newborn. This will not only remove the sex from producing babies but pregnancy as well.
These technologies still involve eggs and sperm to make embryos. However, that could shift due to emerging stem cell technologies.
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Creating Gametes From Any Cell
It is only a matter of time before science allows experts to take cells from a person's mouth or skin and turn them into human egg or sperm cells. According to Dr. Eli Y. Adashi from Brown's Warren Alpert Medical School, it is a replacement technology that enables scientists to make new spare parts when the original parts are not functioning.
This process can be made possible by in vitro gametogenesis (IVG), a method of developing gametes or reproductive cells outside the body. In theory, this involves reprogramming any cell from a person's blood, skin, or hair to become a gamete. Then, the gametes will be used to create fertilized embryos, eventually implanted into a uterus.
The new technology offers the promise of solving problems in reproduction. It aims to make pregnancy easier for all types of families, including those who struggle with fertility issues, women who want to get pregnant later in life, and same-sex couples who wish to have children with DNA from both parents.
IVG has not yet been performed on humans, but a team of researchers from Kyoto University announced that they have already practiced IVG in mice. The details of their research are described in the paper "Offspring from Oocytes Derived from in Vitro Primordial Germ Cell-like Cells in Mice."
Led by Mitinori Saitou, the Japanese researchers used cells from the tails of adult mice to produce induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells. These iPS cells were coaxed to become mouse sperm and eggs, which were then used to make embryos implanted into the womb of female mice. After several weeks, the mother gave birth to healthy mouse pups. According to Saitou, they are currently in the process of translating these technologies to humans.
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