Rechtzeitig zum Muttertag <a href=www.wirednews.com target=_blank>meldet Wired: Anton Bukovsky, Professor an einer Uni in Tennessee, hat im Reagenzglas Zellen von der Oberfläche von Eierstöcken dazu gebracht, sich in befruchtungsfähige menschliche Eizellen zu entwickeln (Originalartikel). Was das heisst? Der Autor meint:

Development of numerous mature oocytes from adult ovarian stem cells in vitro offers new strategies for the egg preservation, IVF utilization, and treatment of female infertility. In addition, other clinical applications aiming to utilize stem cells, and basic stem cell research as well, may employ totipotent embryonic stem cells developing from fertilized oocytes.

Und des weiteren ist dies unter anderem für Bukovsky ein erneuter Hinweis darauf, dass - anders als wir es noch in der Schule gelernt haben - die Frauen nicht mit einer fixen Anzahl Eizellen zur Welt kommen, die dann im Laufe der Jahre und der Zyklen immer weniger werden, sondern dass sie im Gegenteil ein Leben lang neue Eizellen produzieren! Oder, aus dem Artikel, und in "Fachchinesisch":

The origin of oocytes (and primary follicles) in ovaries of adult mammalian females has been a matter of dispute for over one hundred years. The resulting dogma was that all oocytes in adult mammalian females persist from the fetal period of life [1]. However, from a phylogenetic viewpoint, it seems contradictory that mammalian females, including humans, would evolve a uniquely retrogressive reproductive mechanism, requiring preservation of their gametes from the fetal period for up to several decades. Such long lasting preservation could cause an accumulation of spontaneous or environmentally induced genetic alterations of oocytes in resting primary follicles. On the contrary, oogenesis has been demonstrated in cultured mouse embryonic stem cells [2], and mitotically active germ cells have been reported in ovaries of adult prosimian primates [3] and mice [4]. We have shown that mesenchymal cells in ovarian tunica albuginea (TA) differentiate into surface epithelium, a source of germ cells entering blood vessels and contributing to follicular renewal in adult human females [5, 6]. These reports represent challenges to established dogma on the fetal origin of mammalian eggs [7, 8].