Cloning The Male Genome May Help Infertile Men

Artificially replicating the male genome could help men with very low sperm counts become fathers, a scientist told the 23rd annual conference of the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology (Tuesday 3 July). Professor Takumi Takeuchi, of Weill Medical College, Cornell University, New York, USA, said that mouse experiments by his team, led by Professor Gianpiero D. Palermo, had shown that offspring born as a result of such replication had shown a level of abnormalities consistent with that shown in cloned animals. Where the man in a couple has problems making any significant level of sperm, doctors are often confronted with the challenge of retrieving a single viable sperm to inject into each egg. Such a sperm is therefore precious to couples wishing to conceive, said Professor Takeuchi. “If we were able to propagate it, while maintaining its normal chromosomal make-up, its ability to fertilise and to participate in full-term embryo development, we would be able to enhance the number of chances of conception of many couples, and hence improve the changes of an on-going pregnancy.” ... Whole on "BIO":[ http://www.bio.com/newsfeatures/newsfeatures_research.jhtml;jsessionid=22IMD3B5BXEU1R3FQLMSFEWHUWBNQIV0?cid=30900006]

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