Scientists at a research institution in Lyon, France, have claimed that they were able to have grown human sperm in test tubes-a breakthrough that fights against male infertility.

The sperm cells that have been developed the first time in the laboratory's "bioreactor" are observed to be similar to those produced naturally. It has been belonging to the realms of fiction but now it has become a breakthrough, according to The Independent. Therefore, this breakthrough could help thousands of infertile young boys and men who were and are left sterile due to cancer treatment all over the world.

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From stem cells, derived from a five-day old embryo, the sperm was created. It, however, raised ethical questions regarding the safety of the procedure as well as the threat it poses to the future role of men. Moreover, experts also challenged and claimed that the sperm-like cells produced in the study were not authentic sperm.

If the finding of the experiment is confirmed, then a single male embryo could yield, in theory, a stem-cell line that could provide an unlimited supply of sperm cells when stored. Once established, there would no need of further reproduction for men. Hence, Professor Karim Nayernia, scientist at Newcastle University and the Northeast England Stem Cell Institute, raised the question of whether the breakthrough would mean "the end of men."

Personally, for Nayernia, he could not see human reproduction as merely a biological process because it has human, emotional, social, psychological, and ethical aspects as well. This experiment was not solely done for replacing the reproductive procedure but to only help infertile men.

As stated by Telegraph, the technology, according to the scientists, could be ready within up to four years to help the male population who is unable to make their own sperm to have their own biological offspring. Yet, some have doubts and claim that the findings should not be verified until there is the published research in a peer-reviewed journal.

Tagssperm cells, test tubes, male infertility, Human reproduction, stem-cell line