Biotechnology and Bioengineering News -- ScienceDaily

Showing posts with label oocyte. Show all posts
Showing posts with label oocyte. Show all posts

Monday, October 2, 2017

Necessity is the mother of invention

Do you remember Emmeline Pankhurst? She became (in)famous as the leader of the women's suffragette movement in England which made itself known to the British people in the years leading up to World War I. She campaigned enthusiastically, but usually illegally, for the women's right to vote in political elections in England.
Wikipedia
BBC
The efforts of the suffragettes shaped the characteristics of British women irrevocably. Wikipedia

With the suffragettes in mind, then, it is interesting to consider the powerful position that somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has also given women who, not long ago, were not even allowed to vote! Thanks to the work of Dr Jose Cibelli and others, it is now possible for women to live forever without needing men at all. Men are now just unnecessary ancilliaries that may or may not be of use to women!

So, what can men do to rectify this seemingly unjust situation? Well, I think I may have come up with the answer. We need to invent a cloning machine that can be installed in local hospitals to serve the male community. When a man feels it is a good time to have a son to replace himself, he visits the clinic and a doctor selects an oocyte from a suitable female (possibly cryogenically preserved) to receive the man's somatic cell. The oocyte is then enucleated, and the somatic cell introduced into the oocyte by micromanipulators. The resulting embryos are given an electric shock to stimulate cell division, and the resulting foetus would be incubated in an artificial womb for nine months. I think doctors should allow would-be dads to use the micromanipulators and actually implant their somatic cells themselves (after careful training). The man would later be encouraged to visit the clinic and the developing foetus at regular intervals to allow bonding to develop. After nine months, the clone would be taken out of the incubator and be 'born'. The clinic would check that the infant clone was 'doing fine' and the man should then be allowed to take his new son home to be raised as he sees fit.

Friday, July 31, 2015

The engineering behind reproductive cloning

Reproductive cloning doesn't require the use of egg cells, just normal somatic skin cells will suffice. This is somewhat amazing in itself; but what is also amazing, and may be taken for granted by many, is the technology behind the equipment used to perform the delicate transfer of cells to oocytes. It is common to show the transfer on screens, where the glass equipment used can clearly be seen. Reference ASME
One must not forget the human oocyte is only about 100 micrometres in diameter, and requires extremely delicate positioning by micromanipulators. These must be precision engineered to achieve reliability in operation.