"People around here are quite happy with the result," Hurtado says, laughing. Just then, Seres and two of their colleagues who've been watching over our shoulders start to whisper excitedly. "I like to call it a Christmas tree because it's like all the lights - makes people happy when they see something like this." And then you can see a lot of dots that are really red fluorescent," Hurtado says. "Hopefully what you can appreciate here is you can see our mini-ovaries. Mini-ovaries are combinations of cells that the company has grown to nurture those primordial cells into becoming immature human eggs.Īnother microscope projects an image of what's in that dish onto a screen. Shots - Health News Creating a sperm or egg from any cell? Reproduction revolution on the horizon "They already decided that they are going to become an egg or a sperm, but they haven't decided yet that they are going to become an egg, and that's something we do later on," Hurtado says. This ingredient coaxed them into developing into cells that could become either sperm or eggs. The company's scientists created the primordial cells by exposing induced pluripotent stem cells to a special protein elixir. "These are primordial germ-cell-like cells," he says. Next, Hurtado pulls a clear round dish out of an incubator. Under the microscope, the colonies look silvery blue, almost like crystals or clumps of snowflakes. But they align with each other to be in these colonies." "So they don't like to grow as individual cells. "They like to grow in what we call colonies," Hurtado says. ![]() Hurtado starts by putting a sample of induced pluripotent stem cells that the company created from human blood cells under a microscope. Inside the company's new laboratory, dozens of scientists wearing white lab coats are busy conducting experiments. "So it's really exciting." Mini-ovaries nurture immature eggs "As far as we know, we're the first in the world that have been able to do this," says Krisiloff, who adds that the company has raised nearly $40 million and has expanded to a staff of more than 40. Many other labs around the world are also racing toward the same goal.īut Krisiloff and his colleagues say their company has gotten closer to making IVG a reality than anyone else by creating structures found in ovaries known as follicles, which are crucial for maturing eggs. "And for individuals, I think it's going to be life changing." Japanese scientists have already successfully completed IVG in mice and are trying to translate their success to humans. "How big of a deal it is for the world? I think it's going to be pretty big," says Seres, who has a background in in vitro fertilization. Transgender couples could also use IVG to have biologically related babies. IVG could also create sperm for lesbian couples, allowing them to have babies with genes from both women. I don't have that capacity right now." He adds, "I am devoting my life to trying to change that." "There is something intrinsic about sharing a life that is half me and half my husband. "Yeah, I'm gay, and it's something that got me so personally interested in this in the first place." ![]() "My personal biggest interest in it is it could allow same-sex couples to be able to have biological children together as well," Krisiloff says. So these lab-grown eggs would have that person's DNA. That's because induced pluripotent stem cells can be made from just a single cell from anyone's skin or blood. IVG would enable these women to have their own genetically related babies at any age. ![]() The experimental technology could help women who have lost their eggs to cancer treatment, women who have never been able to produce healthy eggs and women whose eggs are no longer viable because of their age. " really opens the door, if you can create eggs, to be able to help people have children that otherwise don't have options right now." ![]() "Basically, we're trying to turn a type of stem cell called an induced pluripotent stem cell into a human egg," Krisiloff says. Conception is trying to accelerate, and eventually commercialize, a field of biomedical research known as in vitro gametogenesis (IVG).
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