5 ms·

This is pretty insensitive. There's a lot of women that would love to have this technology available instead IVF or other options.

delecti 9y ago
Or transgender men and women who would love a natural source of hormones instead of being resigned to pills or regular injections for the rest of their lives.
- nsxwolf 9y ago
  Along those lines it seems like an artificial pancreas could be made in a similar fashion and end Type 1 diabetes.
  - wayn3 9y ago
    An artificial pancreas can solve a lot more problems than just type 1 diabetes :)
  - defined 9y ago
    Although this also would be a huge boon for Type 2 diabetics like me, I thought that the pancreas generated insulin from the Islets of Langerhans (or something like that - IANAB), which sounds a lot more complex to replicate than a scaffolding to support egg precursors - but this may just be my ignorance. Is there any progress in this regard that you could point me to?
    - nanofortnight 9y ago
      Pancreatic islet transplantation is already a thing. Islets are isolated and are introduced into the portal circulation. They embed themselves into the liver. This is normally only done in patients with brittle diabetes because of the need for immunosuppression. This is a less complex procedure than a full pancreas transplant.
      - defined 9y ago
        Thanks, that's informative. It doesn't seem like a 3D printing application, though, am I right?
- AnkhMorporkian 9y ago
  I'm not sure if that's a realistic hope. IANAB, but FtM individuals don't have a Y chromosome to work with, so I don't see how they could get the genetic coding to make testes work. You could use a biological male's DNA, but then you're trading hormones for anti-rejection pills.
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - lotyrin 9y ago
    I wonder how immunologically different the proteins on an artificial testicle that had the host's DNA aside from a single close-relative donor Y chromosome would be.
  - delecti 9y ago
    I believe there's only one gene on the Y chromosome that really kicks off "maleness", the SRY gene, and it doesn't code for "testicles". The SRY gene just kicks off another process, the genes for which are present in everybody. I think there would still be a few steps left to create the seed cells, but that would be the case in trans women as well, as it seems the mouse pseudo-ovaries were seeded with the mice's harvested eggs. I think there are genes on the Y chromosome which code for sperm cells, so trans men wouldn't be fertile with one of these testicle-chips, but even getting an endogenous source of hormones would be awesome. Also, I'm not sure what "IANAB" means. I am not a "?"
    - crowbahr 9y ago
      Biologist I think.
    - AnkhMorporkian 9y ago
      IANAB = I am not a biologist. I know there's SRY, and that does kick things off, but I also know there's a disorder where SRY translocates to the X chromosome. It causes otherwise XX individuals to develop as a male, but they don't produce testosterone and they require augmentation. That makes me believe that the testosterone producing genes are probably on the Y chromosome as well.
asciimo 9y ago
I understand that perspective, but the #1 threat to our habitat is more inhabitants. It's hard to celebrate investing in a longshot technology that will ultimately exacerbate our problems. An individual's desires have to take a backseat sometimes.
- nsxwolf 9y ago
  No they don't.
- qb45 9y ago
  I think only Eastern Asia really has this problem at the moment while some areas have the opposite.
  - hhw 9y ago
    Did you mean South Asia? China has gotten to the point where they are able to lift the one child per family policy, after seeing that it made very little difference when they previously relaxed the policy in cases where both parents were only children. Meanwhile, Japan has to resort to advertising and public service announcements to encourage young people to date due to their low birth rates and declining population.
- michaelchisari 9y ago
  A wider choice in family planning has never shown to result in overpopulation. Overpopulation is almost always a result of the opposite.

delecti 9y ago

Or transgender men and women who would love a natural source of hormones instead of being resigned to pills or regular injections for the rest of their lives.

nsxwolf 9y ago
Along those lines it seems like an artificial pancreas could be made in a similar fashion and end Type 1 diabetes.
- wayn3 9y ago
  An artificial pancreas can solve a lot more problems than just type 1 diabetes :)
- defined 9y ago
  Although this also would be a huge boon for Type 2 diabetics like me, I thought that the pancreas generated insulin from the Islets of Langerhans (or something like that - IANAB), which sounds a lot more complex to replicate than a scaffolding to support egg precursors - but this may just be my ignorance. Is there any progress in this regard that you could point me to?
  - nanofortnight 9y ago
    Pancreatic islet transplantation is already a thing. Islets are isolated and are introduced into the portal circulation. They embed themselves into the liver. This is normally only done in patients with brittle diabetes because of the need for immunosuppression. This is a less complex procedure than a full pancreas transplant.
    - defined 9y ago
      Thanks, that's informative. It doesn't seem like a 3D printing application, though, am I right?
AnkhMorporkian 9y ago
I'm not sure if that's a realistic hope. IANAB, but FtM individuals don't have a Y chromosome to work with, so I don't see how they could get the genetic coding to make testes work. You could use a biological male's DNA, but then you're trading hormones for anti-rejection pills.
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- lotyrin 9y ago
  I wonder how immunologically different the proteins on an artificial testicle that had the host's DNA aside from a single close-relative donor Y chromosome would be.
- delecti 9y ago
  I believe there's only one gene on the Y chromosome that really kicks off "maleness", the SRY gene, and it doesn't code for "testicles". The SRY gene just kicks off another process, the genes for which are present in everybody. I think there would still be a few steps left to create the seed cells, but that would be the case in trans women as well, as it seems the mouse pseudo-ovaries were seeded with the mice's harvested eggs. I think there are genes on the Y chromosome which code for sperm cells, so trans men wouldn't be fertile with one of these testicle-chips, but even getting an endogenous source of hormones would be awesome. Also, I'm not sure what "IANAB" means. I am not a "?"
  - crowbahr 9y ago
    Biologist I think.
  - AnkhMorporkian 9y ago
    IANAB = I am not a biologist. I know there's SRY, and that does kick things off, but I also know there's a disorder where SRY translocates to the X chromosome. It causes otherwise XX individuals to develop as a male, but they don't produce testosterone and they require augmentation. That makes me believe that the testosterone producing genes are probably on the Y chromosome as well.

asciimo 9y ago

I understand that perspective, but the #1 threat to our habitat is more inhabitants. It's hard to celebrate investing in a longshot technology that will ultimately exacerbate our problems. An individual's desires have to take a backseat sometimes.

nsxwolf 9y ago
No they don't.
qb45 9y ago
I think only Eastern Asia really has this problem at the moment while some areas have the opposite.
- hhw 9y ago
  Did you mean South Asia? China has gotten to the point where they are able to lift the one child per family policy, after seeing that it made very little difference when they previously relaxed the policy in cases where both parents were only children. Meanwhile, Japan has to resort to advertising and public service announcements to encourage young people to date due to their low birth rates and declining population.
michaelchisari 9y ago
A wider choice in family planning has never shown to result in overpopulation. Overpopulation is almost always a result of the opposite.