Reproductive technology
Encyclopedia
Reproductive technology encompasses all current and anticipated uses of technology
in human
and animal
reproduction, including assisted reproductive technology
, contraception
and others.
is a form of reproductive technology that enables people to control their fertility.
or male egg
s from the cells of adult women and men. With female sperm and male eggs, lesbian and gay couples wishing to become parents would not have to rely on a third party donor of sperm or egg.
The first significant development occurred in 1991, in a patent application filed by U.Penn. scientists to fix male sperm by extracting some sperm, correcting a genetic defect in vitro, and injecting the sperm back into the male's testicles. While the vast majority of the patent application dealt with male sperm, one line suggested that the procedure would work with XX cells, i.e., cells from an adult woman to make female sperm.
In the two decades that followed, the idea of female sperm
became more of a reality. In 1997, scientists partially confirmed such techniques by creating chicken female sperm in a similar manner. They did so by injecting blood stem cells from an adult female chicken into a male chicken's testicles. Some years later, other Japanese scientists created female offspring by combining the eggs of two adult mice, though using a procedure that would not be allowed for humans.
In 2008, a flurry of announcements revealed further developments with human same-sex reproduction, with a patent application filed by an American researcher specifically on methods for creating human female sperm using artificial or natural Y chromosome
s and testicular transplantation. A UK-based group, in an interview, predicted they would be able to create human female sperm within five years. Another group at the Butantan Institute in Brazil is working on creating male eggs from embryonic stem cells, and if successful, from adult skin cells, though their current experiments are with mice. All of these developments and more are listed in Timeline of Research in Human Same-sex Procreation.
issues, since technology often alters the assumptions that lie behind existing systems of sexual and reproductive morality
.
Also, ethical issues of human enhancement
arise when reproductive technology has evolved to be a potential technology for not only reproductively inhibited people but even for otherwise reproductively healthy people.
See individual subarticles for details
Technology
Technology is the making, usage, and knowledge of tools, machines, techniques, crafts, systems or methods of organization in order to solve a problem or perform a specific function. It can also refer to the collection of such tools, machinery, and procedures. The word technology comes ;...
in human
Human
Humans are the only living species in the Homo genus...
and animal
Animal
Animals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
reproduction, including assisted reproductive technology
Assisted reproductive technology
Assisted reproductive technology is a general term referring to methods used to achieve pregnancy by artificial or partially artificial means. It is reproductive technology used primarily in infertility treatments. Some forms of ART are also used in fertile couples for genetic reasons...
, contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
and others.
Assisted reproductive technology
Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is the use of reproductive technology to treat infertility. This is today the only application of reproductive technology to increase reproduction that is used routinely. Examples include in vitro fertilization and its possible expansions.- artificial inseminationArtificial inseminationArtificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
- artificial reproductionArtificial reproductionArtificial reproduction is the creation of new life by other than the natural means available to an organism. Examples include artificial insemination, in vitro fertilization, cloning and embryonic splitting, or cleavage....
- cloningCloningCloning in biology is the process of producing similar populations of genetically identical individuals that occurs in nature when organisms such as bacteria, insects or plants reproduce asexually. Cloning in biotechnology refers to processes used to create copies of DNA fragments , cells , or...
(see human cloningHuman cloningHuman cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. It does not usually refer to monozygotic multiple births nor the reproduction of human cells or tissue. The ethics of cloning is an extremely controversial issue...
for the special case of human beings) - cryopreservationCryopreservationCryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
of spermSpermatozoonA spermatozoon is a motile sperm cell, or moving form of the haploid cell that is the male gamete. A spermatozoon joins an ovum to form a zygote...
, oocyteOocyteAn oocyte, ovocyte, or rarely ocyte, is a female gametocyte or germ cell involved in reproduction. In other words, it is an immature ovum, or egg cell. An oocyte is produced in the ovary during female gametogenesis. The female germ cells produce a primordial germ cell which undergoes a mitotic...
s, embryos - embryo transferEmbryo transferEmbryo transfer refers to a step in the process of assisted reproduction in which embryos are placed into the uterus of a female with the intent to establish a pregnancy...
- fertility medicationFertility medicationFertility medication are drugs which enhance reproductive fertility. For women, fertility medication is used to stimulate follicle development of the ovary...
- hormone treatment
- in vitro fertilisationIn vitro fertilisationIn vitro fertilisation is a process by which egg cells are fertilised by sperm outside the body: in vitro. IVF is a major treatment in infertility when other methods of assisted reproductive technology have failed...
- intracytoplasmic sperm injectionIntracytoplasmic sperm injectionIntracytoplasmic sperm injection is an in vitro fertilization procedure in which a single sperm is injected directly into an egg.-Indications:...
- intracytoplasmic sperm injection
- preimplantation genetic diagnosisPreimplantation genetic diagnosisIn medicine and genetics pre-implantation genetic diagnosis refers to procedures that are performed on embryos prior to implantation, sometimes even on oocytes prior to fertilization. PGD is considered another way to prenatal diagnosis...
Contraception
ContraceptionContraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
is a form of reproductive technology that enables people to control their fertility.
Others
The following techniques, in contrast to ART, are not yet routinely used. In fact, most of them are even at the developmental stage:- artificial wombs
- germinal choice technologyGerminal choice technologyGerminal choice technology refers to a set of reprogenetic technologies that, currently or that are expected to in the future, allow parents to influence the genetic constitutions of their children...
- in vitro parthenogenesisParthenogenesisParthenogenesis is a form of asexual reproduction found in females, where growth and development of embryos occur without fertilization by a male...
- reprogeneticsReprogeneticsReprogenetics is a term referring to the merging of reproductive and genetic technologies expected to happen in the near future as techniques like germinal choice technology become more available and more powerful. The term was coined by Lee M...
Same-sex procreation
In recent decades, a new possibility for LGBT parenting, same-sex procreation (where two women could have a son or daughter with equal genetic contributions from both women, or where two men could have a son or daughter with equal genetic contributions from both men), has become a possibility, through the creation of either female spermFemale sperm
Female Sperm is a term that refers to a sperm that contains an X chromosome, produced in the usual way by a male, referring to the fact that when such a sperm fertilizes an egg, a female child is born. However, since the late 1980s, scientists have explored how to produce sperm whereby all of the...
or male egg
Male egg
Male eggs are the result of a process in which the eggs of a female would be emptied of their genetic contents , and those contents would be replaced with male DNA. Such eggs could then be fertilized by sperm. The procedure was conceived by Dr. Calum MacKellar, a Scottish bioethicist...
s from the cells of adult women and men. With female sperm and male eggs, lesbian and gay couples wishing to become parents would not have to rely on a third party donor of sperm or egg.
The first significant development occurred in 1991, in a patent application filed by U.Penn. scientists to fix male sperm by extracting some sperm, correcting a genetic defect in vitro, and injecting the sperm back into the male's testicles. While the vast majority of the patent application dealt with male sperm, one line suggested that the procedure would work with XX cells, i.e., cells from an adult woman to make female sperm.
In the two decades that followed, the idea of female sperm
Female sperm
Female Sperm is a term that refers to a sperm that contains an X chromosome, produced in the usual way by a male, referring to the fact that when such a sperm fertilizes an egg, a female child is born. However, since the late 1980s, scientists have explored how to produce sperm whereby all of the...
became more of a reality. In 1997, scientists partially confirmed such techniques by creating chicken female sperm in a similar manner. They did so by injecting blood stem cells from an adult female chicken into a male chicken's testicles. Some years later, other Japanese scientists created female offspring by combining the eggs of two adult mice, though using a procedure that would not be allowed for humans.
In 2008, a flurry of announcements revealed further developments with human same-sex reproduction, with a patent application filed by an American researcher specifically on methods for creating human female sperm using artificial or natural Y chromosome
Y chromosome
The Y chromosome is one of the two sex-determining chromosomes in most mammals, including humans. In mammals, it contains the gene SRY, which triggers testis development if present. The human Y chromosome is composed of about 60 million base pairs...
s and testicular transplantation. A UK-based group, in an interview, predicted they would be able to create human female sperm within five years. Another group at the Butantan Institute in Brazil is working on creating male eggs from embryonic stem cells, and if successful, from adult skin cells, though their current experiments are with mice. All of these developments and more are listed in Timeline of Research in Human Same-sex Procreation.
Ethics
Many issues of reproductive technology have given rise to bioethicalBioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
issues, since technology often alters the assumptions that lie behind existing systems of sexual and reproductive morality
Morality
Morality is the differentiation among intentions, decisions, and actions between those that are good and bad . A moral code is a system of morality and a moral is any one practice or teaching within a moral code...
.
Also, ethical issues of human enhancement
Human enhancement
Human enhancement refers to any attempt to temporarily or permanently overcome the current limitations of the human body through natural or artificial means...
arise when reproductive technology has evolved to be a potential technology for not only reproductively inhibited people but even for otherwise reproductively healthy people.
See individual subarticles for details