FROM SKIN CELLS TO STEM CELLS TO SPERM: Stanford scientists have successfully converted skin cells cultured from infertile men and created early stage sperm, using stem cell therapy.
The research is at an early stage, but scientists suspect that the converted skin cells might have grown into mature sperm cells if they had been transplanted into the infertile men’s testes.
If further work confirms the suspicion, it may be possible to restore male fertility by taking men’s skin cells, turning them into stem cells, and injecting these into their testes. The same might be done for men who are left infertile after having chemotherapy for cancer.