scientists grow sperm? Lesbians rejoice?
- Thread starter welsh
- Start date
Yeah, I heard about this before; kind of creepy weird stuff.
I don't think it will cause males to become "endangered." People are still going to make babies the old fashioned way. And there's a 50/50 chance of the baby being born a male.
Unless, science is going to make it so expecting parents can pick and choose what traits their future baby is going to have. Like opening up a cake catalog in a bakery and choosing from the pictures which cake you want, what elements you want from other cakes onto the one you want, etc. (haha, yeah odd comparison). You want your baby to be male or female? With yellow eyes? Blue hair? Athletic? Tall? Etc., etc.... Perhaps even one day, science will create the perfect human, with no flaws and crap, like some sort of Twilight Zone episode. Perhaps the ability to live forever by having organ "farms" or something. And when people want to splice in some animal DNA into a human... that would be effed up (but I'm sure there are people out there who want to do that sort of thing). Or all this genetic fooling around will result in hideous freaks.
But, I digress. This topic is about manufacturing sperm. If they use the cells from the female who is going to have the baby to create the sperm, wouldn't there be some sort of problems genetically involved with that? Shouldn't there be two different DNA strains combining and not just the same? Would they be basically giving birth to themselves?
I guess it would be more for research. But if to be used for actually procreation, I'm sure it's for lesbian couples and men who's sperm just don't want to work (or perhaps they don't work for a reason
).
I don't know, I'm just rambling on. Interesting article.
I don't think it will cause males to become "endangered." People are still going to make babies the old fashioned way. And there's a 50/50 chance of the baby being born a male.
Unless, science is going to make it so expecting parents can pick and choose what traits their future baby is going to have. Like opening up a cake catalog in a bakery and choosing from the pictures which cake you want, what elements you want from other cakes onto the one you want, etc. (haha, yeah odd comparison). You want your baby to be male or female? With yellow eyes? Blue hair? Athletic? Tall? Etc., etc.... Perhaps even one day, science will create the perfect human, with no flaws and crap, like some sort of Twilight Zone episode. Perhaps the ability to live forever by having organ "farms" or something. And when people want to splice in some animal DNA into a human... that would be effed up (but I'm sure there are people out there who want to do that sort of thing). Or all this genetic fooling around will result in hideous freaks.
But, I digress. This topic is about manufacturing sperm. If they use the cells from the female who is going to have the baby to create the sperm, wouldn't there be some sort of problems genetically involved with that? Shouldn't there be two different DNA strains combining and not just the same? Would they be basically giving birth to themselves?
I guess it would be more for research. But if to be used for actually procreation, I'm sure it's for lesbian couples and men who's sperm just don't want to work (or perhaps they don't work for a reason
).I don't know, I'm just rambling on. Interesting article.
I think that there will come a day, maybe tomorrow, maybe in 200 years, when humanity will have other things to worry about. And I think that day will come before we manage to do all these sorts of crazy nonsense things. However, the more resources that are spent on useless research, the faster society as we know it will collapse, wich is a good thing.
Radwaster
It Wandered In From the Wastes
Don't panic, we'll soon have artificial brains to do the worrying about mad science:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8164060.stm
If it doesn't think about sex they'll have built it wrong.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8164060.stm
If it doesn't think about sex they'll have built it wrong.
If they can make sperm that has the genetic materials from a female, then there is no y-chromosome in play, and therefore no male babies.Rufus Luccarelli said:
It all sounds pretty cool, except for that whole males-could-possibly-go-extinct thing.
Except males won't go extinct.
It's not like the 10% lesbians of the female populations are the only ones who want to make babies.
It's not like the 10% lesbians of the female populations are the only ones who want to make babies.
Sander said:
Yeah, I believe it is less than 10% of females are lesbians (well, exclusively anyway). And what part of the less than 10% actually want to have children.
My opinion is, if you can't have children but want children, adopt. No need filling the world up with more babies (artificially created ones for that matter) when there are kids out there who have no one. Angelina Jolie can't adopt them all.
(But she'll sure try)PlanHex said:
Yup, forgot about that. It's been awhile since I took a biology class.
they've also got as far with mice to create stemcells from their own skin.welsh said:
basically you don't need women anymore either, welsh. you can simply clone yourself by a mitosis-like procedure soon enough.
welsh said:
That article is really silly. First of, why would this affect anyone's sex life at all? It's not like all women are secretly lesbians trying to get pregnant.
And I dont' see the problem in men being "endangered". Even if this would render men useless, which it of course will not, it's not like it's going to be a holocaust of all those with a Y chromosome so even if the male breed would slowly die out it still wouldn't really be anything to worry about for you guys. Humans will be extinct sooner or later anyway and that doesn't bother me a bit.
Ah well, stupid media aside it's always a good thing when science comes a step closer to understand the human body. Even if this is slightly old news and a certain step closer to Demolition man.
And I dont' see the problem in men being "endangered". Even if this would render men useless, which it of course will not, it's not like it's going to be a holocaust of all those with a Y chromosome so even if the male breed would slowly die out it still wouldn't really be anything to worry about for you guys. Humans will be extinct sooner or later anyway and that doesn't bother me a bit.
Ah well, stupid media aside it's always a good thing when science comes a step closer to understand the human body. Even if this is slightly old news and a certain step closer to Demolition man.
The Vault Dweller
always looking for water.
For the sake of simplicity and a cohesive society women have only reproduced via in vitro fertilization using sperm with chromosomes implanted from other women. Humanity lives, but without any males. As men disappeared and rates of violence collapsed the call to not simply produce males became the edict to eradicate them. Government hierarchies made up entirely of women orchestrated and saw to the deaths of what was going they deemed to be a misbegotten sex.
It is the year 2184 the Last Days of Man.
Coming to a theater near you!
It is the year 2184 the Last Days of Man.
Coming to a theater near you!
The women believe they have ensured the redundancy of males, but they had not foreseen that the last man on Earth has the endurance, courage, and girth to travel deep into female territory and ensure the survival of all men.Weeaboo said:
Ron Jeremy has The Last Jizz of Man!
Heh, I love how they must've spent untold millions of dollars on creating something that is not only abundantly found anywhere, but also wasted by innumerable billions each day for as long as man has existed.
Cudos! Tax dollars well spent.
Cudos! Tax dollars well spent.
UncannyGarlic
Sonny, I Watched the Vault Bein' Built!
My type of worldRufus Luccarelli said:Unless, science is going to make it so expecting parents can pick and choose what traits their future baby is going to have. Like opening up a cake catalog in a bakery and choosing from the pictures which cake you want, what elements you want from other cakes onto the one you want, etc. (haha, yeah odd comparison). You want your baby to be male or female? With yellow eyes? Blue hair? Athletic? Tall? Etc., etc.... Perhaps even one day, science will create the perfect human, with no flaws and crap, like some sort of Twilight Zone episode. Perhaps the ability to live forever by having organ "farms" or something. And when people want to splice in some animal DNA into a human... that would be effed up (but I'm sure there are people out there who want to do that sort of thing). Or all this genetic fooling around will result in hideous freaks.
. I see nothing wrong with allowing people to have experts modify their kids genes and I see no downside to all of this research. Honestly I'm more worried about the portion of people who don't modify their genes and decide to go on some religious crusade against those who do. You know, about a tenth of the population of the part of the US between the west and east coast states .I have to agree that being able to create sperm from existing cells isn't something that I see really having an impact on much outside of science but it should be useful for other research so it's pretty cool.
I see a lot of dangerous potential here regarding for example "selection" and "discrimination" which already take place with many parts. How would it be if many people would have access to genetic engineering? What happens with those that do not have the right budget to use that for their children? It is already now by a large part of the popluation believed (though its wrong) that in social better enviroment children/people would be more intillent. I think a large modifaction of genes would even more give people the impression of a "2 class society" those which have low genes and thus are "less" usefull compared to those with "good" modified genes.UncannyGarlic said:My type of world
Though the only genes I would give you are Garlic genes! I am sure you dont mind the smell ...
JunWisewar
It Wandered In From the Wastes
I thought the other way which is "creating sperm cell using bone marrow" crap already exist for the last couple of years @_@
Imagined how the money spent on this ridiculous experiment could have been used on something more productive.
Imagined how the money spent on this ridiculous experiment could have been used on something more productive.
Yes, I have had a lot of thought about genetic engineering and such, it's and interesting subject. When it comes to modifying genetics, there are a lot of unknowns in the field. Scientists in Japan have already spliced in a particular gene from a jellyfish into a fish in order to make the fish glow (the reason is to aid in studying organ development, makes it so you can see the organ you wish to study). And of course, the general public likes the idea of glowing fish, so they sell some of the fish in pet stores in Japan (all sterilized so as not to make more in the natural environment). But still, modifying genes is a very unknown subject, when you change something, there could be other unwanted effects to the modified subject. What effects? Who knows, there needs to be much more study and research in the field and even with extensive study things can still go wrong. I'm not saying that the modification of certain genes will create some sort of army of super glow in the dark fish that will overpower the human race and become ultimate rulers of the world, but who knows what sort of problems will arise in the modified subject.
Then there's the whole moral end of the spectrum. Genetic modification is not going to be something that the average person can just walk in and have a procedure done. The very rich and elite will most likely be the only ones having "designer babies." And it will become a case of the haves and have nots. It would create a whole new level of class and with it new discriminations. What about the modified people? How will they react to finding out that they were basically manufactured while everyone around them wasn't? Would they have a sense of superiority, or a sense of confusion or even shame?
Then theres the whole legal issues and such. There's also "how much is too much?" Will a manufactured human still be considered human? Are they human or a type of biological android? In the event of people splicing animal and human genes together, is it still considered human? At what point do we draw the line? With the lines be blurred as to what is and is not considered human?
Some questions are easy to answer, most are difficult. Interesting subject though. For a while I've had this idea for a sci-fi novel about a world like this, I think it would make a good read (if I every stop being so lazy, I might write it some day )
(Off subject? Then I apologize )
EDIT: And lets face it, people like a certain look, it will become a trend. You think people all dress the same and look pretty much the same now, just think what genetic engineering will do. There's going to be people who will look pretty much the same. That would be odd.
And a good way to look at the effects of how if you change certain genes, what are the possible effects overall in that change, look a the dog. There are tons of breeds of dog, all coming from one ancestor, the wolf. Dog breeds are kind of like the result of very primitive genetic modification. People pick and chose certain dogs with which to breed to get a desired trait or look. Most dogs still retain that puppy look and attitude even in adulthood because thats what people like, they like puppies. And certain genes carry certain unwanted effects. Take the dalmatian, a basic white spotted dog, looks nice, yes? Well, the dog has to pay the price for having a white coat, because the white coat gene comes with deafness attached to it. There are other examples of problems with picking and choosing certain traits in dog breeds, like hip dysplasia and such, and it all boils down to bad breeding (whether it is unavoidable through genetics or just bad breeding stock).
Bottom line, there is much to learn about this subject and if such a day will come when people get to pick and choose what their kids will look like, its no way going to be anytime soon. And besides, this type of thing should be used to eliminate bad genes in the first place, genes that cause disease or defects, not to create "designer babies."
Then there's the whole moral end of the spectrum. Genetic modification is not going to be something that the average person can just walk in and have a procedure done. The very rich and elite will most likely be the only ones having "designer babies." And it will become a case of the haves and have nots. It would create a whole new level of class and with it new discriminations. What about the modified people? How will they react to finding out that they were basically manufactured while everyone around them wasn't? Would they have a sense of superiority, or a sense of confusion or even shame?
Then theres the whole legal issues and such. There's also "how much is too much?" Will a manufactured human still be considered human? Are they human or a type of biological android? In the event of people splicing animal and human genes together, is it still considered human? At what point do we draw the line? With the lines be blurred as to what is and is not considered human?
Some questions are easy to answer, most are difficult. Interesting subject though. For a while I've had this idea for a sci-fi novel about a world like this, I think it would make a good read (if I every stop being so lazy, I might write it some day
)(Off subject? Then I apologize
)EDIT: And lets face it, people like a certain look, it will become a trend. You think people all dress the same and look pretty much the same now, just think what genetic engineering will do. There's going to be people who will look pretty much the same. That would be odd.
And a good way to look at the effects of how if you change certain genes, what are the possible effects overall in that change, look a the dog. There are tons of breeds of dog, all coming from one ancestor, the wolf. Dog breeds are kind of like the result of very primitive genetic modification. People pick and chose certain dogs with which to breed to get a desired trait or look. Most dogs still retain that puppy look and attitude even in adulthood because thats what people like, they like puppies. And certain genes carry certain unwanted effects. Take the dalmatian, a basic white spotted dog, looks nice, yes? Well, the dog has to pay the price for having a white coat, because the white coat gene comes with deafness attached to it. There are other examples of problems with picking and choosing certain traits in dog breeds, like hip dysplasia and such, and it all boils down to bad breeding (whether it is unavoidable through genetics or just bad breeding stock).
Bottom line, there is much to learn about this subject and if such a day will come when people get to pick and choose what their kids will look like, its no way going to be anytime soon. And besides, this type of thing should be used to eliminate bad genes in the first place, genes that cause disease or defects, not to create "designer babies."