Received the best artificial sperm. Tested in

Tailless cells cannot swim. But this is the best artificial sperm in the world that has already fertilized laboratory mice.

Artificial cells resemble spermatids - round cells, from which full-fledged spermatozoa with flagella - tails are then formed. They are derived from embryonic stem cells. A group of biologists led by Jiahao Sha from Nanjing Medical University in China proved that they could fertilize an egg from a laboratory mouse and get a healthy embryo using a method like IVF , writes New Scientist .

These spermatids created in vitro for the first time in the world meet all the criteria of the "gold standard" for artificial sperm , which was proposed in 2014 by three reproduction scientists.

The creation of clear rules of the “gold standard” should have added scientific rigor to the scientific race, which goes for the creation of the “first” acting sperm-like cells.
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Unlike many other attempts, the cells obtained by Jiahao Sha successfully tolerate meiosis - cell division, crucial for obtaining genetically correct cells. Previously, scientists could not prove that after meiosis, only half of the paternal chromosomes remain cells. The work of Chinese specialists is the first that allows you to track and verify compliance with all requirements for successful meiosis.

However, it is too early to rejoice that male infertility is in the past. Spermatids are derived from embryonic stem cells. The mouse embryo is easily obtained in the laboratory, but such cells are not found in an adult male, that is, specifically this technique cannot be used directly in medicine. Now the task is to obtain the same spermatids from any other cells of the body of a barren man, like skin cells or cheeks.

The scientific work was published in the journal Cell Stem Cell (DOI: 10.1016 / j.stem.2016.01.017).