Some of the recent advancements in stem cell research have led me to dig deeper into the possibilities. The beginning of this year saw the creation of sperm cells from the bone marrow of a female. What are the implications? Does this mean we’ll no longer need males? Is that the end of road for human males?
The human males have dominated the planet for more than 10,000 years by the virtue of their superior physical strength over females. He has, from time to time, taken advantage of this fact and exploited the women. The women, in turn, have evolved gradually to compete with men in virtually every field. The disparities still exists, but the differences have narrowed. As woman begins to step on man’s inflated ego and false sense of pride, he is left with two choices – change or stay single. No wonder there’s been very high divorce rate in countries like
Ethical issues aside, this development does provide us with choices. Women no longer would need to be dependent on men to create a life. Also, this would benefit the gay/lesbian couples. However, as we cut the human male from the process of reproduction, several other issues come to the forefront. What about the upbringing of the child? How would the child grow up without a father? What would be the social and psychological implications on that child? What would then be the role of males in the society?
The answers will come only in time. For now, we can only speculate.
For further reading:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/6547675.stm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?xml=/earth/2008/01/31/scisperm131.xml
3 comments:
I would like to add that the field of human genetics and reproductive development is full of possibilities. However, as we all know, it is too early to comment on the success or failure of these endeavours. To come up with a sperm cell in a lab cannot forecast how it's going to fare in the real world of in vitro development. It is almost impossible to overlook the overall implications. To use stem cells to cure diseases is one thing and to create life from embryonic tissue is a completely different issue. If I may say, I'm all for stem cell transplant to cure incurable diseases like SCID. However, who knows, what would be the error rate and what would be the actual errors in creating sprems from female cells. With due respect to all the brainy people behind such projects, I always feel that it is one thing to give hope to an infertile couple or a gay/lesbian couple and it's a completely different ball game to actually fulfill those high hopes!! Also, the aftermath of the sperms being created in vitro is difficult to predict. Having said that, however, I would like to comment that responsible research is what I'm all for!!
hey nd m really glad to c the shift in the discourse from the great rama' to the stem cells'. i would jus lik to aapend to the whole argument n state that its outset cannot determine the future... therefore its pretty early to assume about the termination of the male dominance among the human species n to prognosticate the revolutionary transformation in the history of human race... i thnk there is still a lot of time to even view the lineations of the real picture shaping up.....so till then lets wait n watch... !!!
I have never said Rama was great. In fact, He has never been known for His greatness. As far as human males are concerned, their extinction is inevitable. The only question is, when?
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