Fridae

Sperm? Who needs 'em?

That's what people might be saying if research from Australia pans out. Scientists from the Monash University's Institute of Reproduction and Development in Melbourne have found a way to fertilize mice eggs without sperm. And if the procedure works in humans, it means women might be able to cut men out of the picture when it comes to making babies, Reuters reported on July 10.

The scientists used somatic (or non-reproductive) cells to fertilize the mice eggs and grow embryos in laboratory culture. The researchers' next step is to implant the embryos into female mice to see if the embryos grow to term. Results are expected within a year, though human trials remain a long shot.

"We have a long process of testing those pups [to see] whether they will be born, whether they are normal, whether they are capable of reproducing, and if the offspring from those pups will be normal as well," said lead researcher, Orly Lacham-Kaplan. "If we get live, healthy babies out of those embryos, then we'll say yes, this is a possibility of fertilizing an egg with a somatic cell."

Lacham-Kaplan added that the main beneficiaries of a successful procedure in humans would likely be infertile men, and cautioned that "a lot of ethical groups would draw the line" for uses beyond this scope.