"How come daddy is so dern small and furry?"
ScienceDaily.com:Mice Become First Animals To Produce Other Species' Sperm
Similar cross-species grafts of testicular tissue have been tried previously, but no sperm cells resulted. Dobrinski speculates that the mice's backs may have provided both an ideal temperature and suitable blood vessels to allow for the growth of functional testes.
"Dr. Dobrinski is one of the few investigators attempting to remove testicular stem cells and transplant them into recipients," said Michael D. Griswold, interim dean of science at Washington State University's School of Molecular Biosciences, who was not involved in the work. "The fact that she can graft portions of testes from other mammalian species into mice and get sperm produced is an important step forward."
They're speculating that this process can be used to generate new drugs, save endangered species and... process lines of livestock.
Homogenization of breeding stock is a distinct possibility, with all that comes with it.
And, of course, I can't help but shake the idea of Presidential testis tissue being implanted onto all our backs.... |
