if scientists can successfully create human sperm in the laboratory we could potentially start finding answers to a number of questions: why some men don't make sperm or why the sperm they do make don't work properly; how we could generate newer chemotherapy drugs that don't make men infertile after cancer treatment; why sperm counts might have declined in recent years. it could even help to develop the new contraceptive for men that women have long been demanding. and being able to observe the processes of sperm development in this new way could one day allow doctors to overcome male fertility in unique and novel ways.
so, if correct, the claims made by newcastle university would be a major advance for sperm biology and we are right to be excited by it. however, having looked down the microscope to observe sperm almost every day for the past 20 years, i cannot correlate what i see in the news with what i understand a mature human sperm to be.
while the cells that the newcastle group have generated may possess some of the distinctive genetic features and molecular markers seen in mature human sperm, ejaculated sperm have specific cellular morphology, behaviour and physiology that are not described in this paper.
for example, i have looked at the video that accompanies the paper but it is of insufficient resolution for me to observe how these cells are actually moving. since movement is an important part of sperm behaviour, it would seem important to assess this in some detail.
in addition, because the structural elements of ejaculated sperm are very distinctive, i would like to see thin sections of the putative sperm examined with an electron microscope and compare them to how we know the head, mid-piece and tail of mature sperm are constructed.
perhaps this data is in their next paper and if it is, i look forward to reading it. i am open to being convinced that these cells are indeed sperm. but for now i can only agree that they are "sperm-like" and i urge caution about the findings until we know more.
the inevitable consequence of this research generating such high-profile news is that infertile couples may seize it upon as a new possible solution to their infertility. i have already received several emails from men (and women) asking when it will be available to help them. i have to be honest and tell them that this may be never be the case.
although the newcastle researchers have been clear in their press release that it is not the immediate intention of their work to create functional sperm for infertile couples to use to make babies, i do worry that the hopes of patients may have been raised by the intensity of the press reporting of this story. the headline "early stage sperm-like cells created" is not as sexy as "british scientists create human sperm" but is more accurate and would have confined this story to the inside pages where it belongs. this science is important and rightly deserves attention but splashing it on the front pages could be said to be somewhat premature.
infertility causes much distress and for too long has been the poor relation of other diseases in terms of attracting nhs funding and resources. as scientists working in this field, we need to always remember to be cautious when reporting our findings and be mindful that we do not give false hope to the very patients we are trying to help.
如果科学家们可以在实验室中成功培育出精子，我们就可为如下问题觅得答案：为什么有的人没有精子或有精子但无生殖能力，如何能研得无损男人生育能力的抗癌化疗药以及为什么近年精子数量呈下降趋势。甚至有可能藉此发展出一直为女性所期盼的男性避孕用品。用此新方法观察精子的发育过程，还能为医生们将来某天攻克男性不育提供独特的全新的视角。
如果一切皆如纽卡斯尔大学所宣称的那样，这将会是精子生物学的一大进步，我们理应为此雀跃。但是，凭我二十年如一日对精子的显微观察所获对成熟精子的认知，我认为其报道与事实有很大的出入。
比如，在文章所附的视频中，我没有看到有关精子是如何运动的详尽描述。而运动能力是研究精子习性的重要部分，理应提供这方面的细节。
又如，由于人造精子与自然精子在结构上并不完全一样，我很想看到二者在电子显微镜下的细节对比图片，来看看人造精子与我们所知的成熟精子在头部、中段、尾部上到底有怎样的构造区别。
也许他们在下一篇论文里将公布这些数据，如果会，我很期待。欢迎来说服我这些细胞是真正的精子。但目前为止，我只能认同这些细胞有点象精子。我认为在我们了解更多之前，对这个发现还是需要谨慎一点。
大量追捧这项研究态的报道的涌现，必会引起不孕不育夫妇们的密切关注并让他们以为看到了新的希望。目前我已经收到了很多男士（亦有女士）的电子邮件咨询这项研究何时能够帮助他们，我不得不坦白的回复他们：没有这个可能。
虽然纽卡斯尔大学的研究者们在他们的新闻发布中已经明确声明，培育出能使不孕不育夫妇获得后代的功能性精子不是他们研究工作的直接目的，我还是很担心病患们的希冀之情会随对这件事的密集报导而高涨。“初步育得类精子细胞”这个标题显然不如“英国科学家培育出人造精子”那么吸引人，但在描述上更精确也更相称其内页新闻的内容性。这项研究的科学性很重要也应该得到关注，但被置于头条广为宣传似乎有些为时尚早。
谈及获得nhs（national health service）资助，相形其他疾病，不孕不育长已经时间被忽视确实很令人沮丧。但作为在这一领域工作的科学家，在公布我们的研究发现时更应小心谨慎，不能把错误的希望带给那些我们想要帮助的人。