Thursday, August 31, 2006
Baby Rats Born From Mice
From National Geographic News: Rat sperm cells grown in mouse testicles have been used to successfully produce healthy baby rats, scientists say.
The research proves a concept first envisioned a decade ago: that functional sperm cells from many types of animals can be produced in small surrogate fathers of a different species.
The finding has implications for species conservation as well as farming and agriculture.
...Frozen sperm stem cells could be used to fertilize eggs of endangered species or to create genetically modified organisms more easily.
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The above is based on the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) paper "Rats produced by interspecies spermatogonial transplantation in mice and in vitro microinsemination" (Abstract)
A short article is also carried by The Times of India (loc. Gurgaon, Haryana): "Twist in the tale: When mice beget rats"
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