Science's latest triumph - glowing green hamster sperm

[emad]

Glowing green sperm point way forward for infertility research

A new way of studying sperm function has been developed which will aid research into male infertility.

In work published in this month’s edition of the journal Biology of Reproduction, an international team led by Oxford researchers has shown for the first time that it is possible to introduce a synthetic gene (a transgene) directly into a normal, live animal in such a way that the gene is expressed in mature sperm.

The new method could be extremely important for fertility research because it allows many different aspects of gene function in sperm to be studied. This means that scientists can begin to understand the details of how the sperm works and how infertility may result when things go wrong.

The new approach is particularly important because although many cells of the body can be cultured in a petri dish and genetically modified there, this is not possible for sperm cells because of their small size and unusual shape, and because they only live for a short time outside the body.

The study showed that the gene coding for a fluorescent green protein, originally taken from a jellyfish, could be introduced into sperm precursor cells within the testicles of a hamster, resulting in green, glowing sperm. Hamsters were used in the study because their sperm have many attributes in common with those of humans, and thus offer an excellent model for studying human sperm development and how defects in this process might result in infertility.
http://www.admin.ox.ac.uk/po/050919a.shtml

[benburch]

1. Hmmm...

If applied to humans this could revolutionize porn films... :evilgrin:

[moggie]

2. I do not like green sperm and hamsters

I do not like them in a lab.
I do not like them in a cab.
I do not like them in a dish.
I do not like them with a fish.
I do not like them here or there,
I do not like them anywhere!

[skids]

6. You sir have a warped, warped mind.

:rofl:

[Rainbowreflect]

8. I are one sick puppy.

And I think I like you!
:rofl: :spray:

[Spinzonner]

3. Is there a Richard Gere joke in there somewhere ?

[BlueEyedSon]

4. I do not like them in the grass,

I do not like them up my ass.

[rkc3]

5. Ding, ding, ding!!! We have a winner!

[moggie]

7. Evil!

:spray:
Not to mention :hurts:

[Orsino]

9. As God is my witness...

...I'll never lose my hamster sperm in the dark again!

[Nihil]

10. Can you imagine how the hamster felt when it saw it?

"WHAT THE F*CK???"

:wow: