Female sperm can be either 1) 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, or 2) sperm containing genetic material from a female. This article focuses on the second definition.
Since the late 1980s, scientists have explored how to produce sperm where all of the chromosomes come from a female donor. In the late 1990s, this concept became a partial reality when scientists in Japan developed chicken female sperm by injecting bone marrow stem cells from a female chicken into a rooster's testicles. This technique proved to fall below expectations, however, and has not yet been successfully adapted for use on humans.
Read more about Female Sperm: Female Sperm Production, Bone Marrow Stem Cell Conversion, Same-sex Marriage
Famous quotes containing the word female:
“When human beings have been fascinated by the contemplation of their own hearts, the more intricate biological pattern of the female has become a model for the artist, the mystic, and the saint. When mankind turns instead to what can be done, altered, built, invented, in the outer world, all natural properties of men, animals, or metals become handicaps to be altered rather than clues to be followed.”
—Margaret Mead (1901–1978)