Quest to create viable human sex cells in lab progressing rapidly, with huge implications for reproduction
Scientists are just a few years from creating viable human sex cells in the lab, according to an internationally renowned pioneer of the field, who says the advance could open up biology-defying possibilities for reproduction.
Speaking to the Guardian, Prof Katsuhiko Hayashi, a developmental geneticist at the University of Osaka, said rapid progress is being made towards being able to transform adult skin or blood cells into eggs and sperm, a feat of genetic conjury known as in-vitro gametogenesis (IVG).
His own lab is about seven years away from the milestone, he predicts. Other frontrunners include a team at the University of Kyoto and a California-based startup, Conception Biosciences, whose Silicon Valley backers include the OpenAI founder, Sam Altman and whose CEO told the Guardian that growing eggs in the lab “might be the best tool we have to reverse population decline” and could pave the way for human gene editing.
Yeah? And? Intergenerational households are a thing. Communities are a thing. A culture of small communities would be, in my opinion, superior to this isolating capitalist society.
Pivoting now, why would I want anyone to wipe my ass? I’m not a king. If I die because my immediate community and I cannot take care of myself, then that’s how it goes. I don’t plan on living forever and I certainly don’t plan on life being free of suffering. It is my sincere hope and goal to be the kind of person that people want in their lives. *I want to contribute positivity and love, which is, again, in my opinion, the pathway to a good life and thereby maintain a close community that helps one another. *
Third pivot. If, and I do mean IF, you read that last sentence and responded cynically, reflect on where that is coming from and let me know. (I have italicized the sentence for clarity.)
Doesn’t matter, you need working age people. A society can’t function if it’s all old people. Period