Spain created sperm from human skin cells

Spanish scientists on April 27 said they have created sperm from human skin cells, a medical feat that could eventually open the way to treating infertility.

According to The Telegraph, researchers say they are trying to find a solution for about 15% of couples in the world who cannot give birth, forced to rely on donated eggs and sperm.

"What to do when someone wants to have a baby but lacks eggs or sperm? This is the problem we want to solve: Creating eggs or sperm in people who don't have it " - Carlos Simon, Scientific Director from the Valencia Infertility Research Institute, Spain's first medical facility dedicated to assisting reproductive issues, says.

Human sperm under a microscope.(Photo: THE TELEGRAPH / ALAMY).

The results of the study were conducted in collaboration with Stanford University in the US and published on April 26 in Scientific Reports. Scientists were inspired by the work of Shinya Yamanaka (Japanese) and John Gordon (British), two scientists in 2012 who were awarded the Nobel Prize for discovering that mature cells could be converted back into embryonic-like stem cells.

Simon and his team worked on reconstructing mature skin cells by introducing a mixture of genes needed to create gametes . Within a month, skin cells have transformed into a germ cell that can develop into sperm or eggs but they find they are unable to conceive.

"This is a sperm but needs an extra stage to become a gamete. This is just the beginning," Simon said. "For humans, we will have to do more testing because we are talking about creating a child ".

Researchers must also consider the legal constraints because the technique involved in creating artificial embryos is only allowed in some countries.