Growing Male Reproductive Parts in a Lab? The Great Replacement of Men By Brian Simpson

When I first saw the story about lab-grown testicles in a mainstream media site, I thought it was likely false news. However, with further fact checking, it seems to be a correct report, at least an accurate report on what the scientists at Bar-Ilan University in Israel have claimed. What has been produced are tiny artificial organs that mimic the function not of human testicles, but that of the mouse. The same type of tubules have been produced parallel to those in the testicles of male mice. But it has not been shown that these tubules can produce sperm, and that is a long way off, but is an expected future outcome.

As always, the justification of the research is to treat human infertility. Perhaps; but it is not too hard to see where this type of research could go, along the transhuman agenda, with the replacement of males by artificial sperm producing machines in Brave New World, just around the corner, if we let it.

https://studyfinds.org/lab-grown-testicles/

"Scientists have successfully grown working "testicles in a dish" that could one day help solve male infertility, which affects one in 12 men worldwide. Researchers at Bar-Ilan University in Israel produced tiny organoids – artificial miniature organs – that closely mimic the structure and function of natural testicles. These lab-grown organs, cultured from cells sampled from mouse testes, formed small tubules that parallel the sperm-producing seminiferous tubules found in real testicles.

"Artificial testicles are a promising model for basic research on testicle development and function, which can be translated into therapeutic applications for disorders of sexual development and infertility," says lead researcher Dr. Nitzan Gonen, of the BIU Goodman Faculty of Life Sciences and the Institute of Nanotechnology and Advanced Materials, in a statement.

Research shows one in eight couples encounter problems when trying to conceive a child, and in around half of cases the issues lie with the male partner. Low sperm count or poor sperm quality can have multiple causes, including genetic defects, hormonal imbalances, and damage from cancer treatments. Growing artificial testicles offers scientists a unique window into understanding and potentially treating these disorders.

The testis performs two key jobs in men – producing sperm and synthesizing the hormone testosterone. Abnormal development or function of the testicles can therefore lead to fertility problems or ambiguous genitalia at birth. Recreating these organs in the lab provides researchers with a ready supply of biological materials to delve into the intricate processes of male sex determination and sperm production. Organoids of the brain, kidneys, intestines, and other organs have already been produced in other studies.

The team cultured organoids by first extracting immature testicular cells from neonatal mice. They placed these cells in a specialized gel medium that encouraged them to self-organize into tiny organ-like structures. Amazingly, after just two days the cells began clustering together to form primitive tubules. Over two months in culture, these tubules developed clear structural similarities to the sperm-producing seminiferous tubules in adult mouse testes.

In the testis, maturing sperm cells migrate along the convoluted seminiferous tubules, surrounded by nurturing Sertoli cells that support their development. The channels in the lab-grown organoids strongly resembled these intricate tubular networks, lending hope that they too could one day produce sperm."