Scientists Grow Sperm in Laboratory

A Japanese experiment could lead to landmark treatments for infertile men.

In a study published in the journal Nature, researchers say they have managed to grow viable sperm in the laboratory using testicular tissue from mice. Through the in-vitro fertilization of females, the sperm was used to create 12 young mice that went on to have offspring of their own. The research could possibly be used either to allow infertile men to father children or to preserve the fertility of cancer patients. Men who undergo chemotherapy routinely freeze their sperm before receiving the cancer treatment, but the new research would conceivably allow male patients rendered infertile by chemotherapy to preserve testicular tissue beforehand and use it to produce viable sperm later in life.