The synthetic sperm

Stem cells taken from the bone marrow of men can be coaxed into something that resembles an immature sperm cell.

They hope to use their findings to come up with new and better fertility treatments for both men and women.

Nayernia, now at Newcastle University and the North East England Stem Cell Institute in Britain, had previously grown sperm cells from mouse bone marrow and used them to fertilize mouse eggs and create living baby mice.

His team worked with men who were about to get bone marrow transplants, a common treatment for cancer.

They removed some of the bone marrow, a rich source of so-called adult stem cells. These stem cells are used by the body to replenish blood, bone, muscle and other tissues.

“Here we show that a small population of bone marrow cells is able to transdifferentiate to male germ cell-like cells,” Nayernia’s team wrote.

“Our findings provide direct evidence that human bone marrow cells can differentiate to putative male germ cells and identify bone marrow as a potential source of male germ cells that could sustain sperm production.”

Redirecting immature cells Stem cell science counts on being able to redirect a cell so it will create a particular tissue. The more immature a stem cell is, the more malleable it is, which is why many researchers want to work with and study stem cells taken from days-old embryos.

Unlike mature tissue, stem cells live longer, with some types being virtually immortal under the right lab conditions.

If scientists can take bone marrow cells from an infertile man and turn them into sperm, he could father a child using standard techniques such as in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Other researchers have done similar work in female mice, taking bone marrow cells and turning them into egg cells.

embryonic stem cells used in research most often come from embryos left over after in vitro fertilization procedures.

Step One: An egg is fertilized by a sperm in a lab dish

Step Two: The fertilized egg begins to divide and develop into an embryo. About five days later, the embryo becomes a blastocyst -- a hollow ball of about 100 cells. The inner cells are the embryonic stem cells.

Step Three: Stem cells are removed from the blastocyst and cultured in the laboratory where they theoretically can multiply indefinitely.

Step Four: By adding and removing certain proteins, scientists can coax the cells to develop into new heart, bone, nerve or other cells.

Source: www.msnbc.msn.com

Swimming in the beach

Kids is always happy. I can't hide my smile when i took this picture. Seeing their cheerfully face was so gratified and worried at the same time. Beach and river in Jakarta is full by pollutant and industrials waste. The water has black color and unpleasant smell. It absolutely unsafe and uncomfort place for child to play.

Can I get struck by lightning when I'm indoors?

Do you ever hear that someone struck by lighting when they are indoors??

Over 1,000 people get struck by lightning every year in the United States, and over 100 of them die as a result of the strike. Lightning is a very dangerous force that, yes, can even reach you indoors if you're in contact with the telephone or plumbing.

If lightning strikes the phone line outside your house, the strike will travel to every phone on the line -- and potentially to you if you are holding the phone. So, if you are indoors during a lightning storm, stay off the phone. If you must call someone, use a cordless or cell phone -- that way, you're not in contact with any wires that run outdoors.

Stay away from plumbing pipes like your bath tub or shower, as well. Lightning has the ability to strike a house or near a house and impart an electrical charge to the metal pipes used for plumbing. If you're touching those pipes or anything connected to those pipes, that electrical charge has a path to you. This threat is not as great as it used to be, because PVC (polyvinyl chloride) is often used for indoor plumbing these days. If you are not sure what your pipes are made of, wait it out.

And while you're at it, switch off your appliances and electronics before the storm hits. Such devices as your computer, television and air conditioner all provide potential pathways between the lightning and you.

more about lighting

'He' or 'She'..??

Hmm.. interesting photo, isn’t it?? I took this pic accidentally when I was trapped by traffic jam at Jl Gunung sahari, Jakarta. Until now, I’m still wondering whether ‘he’ or ‘she’..? :)

Unsafety project

As a developing country, Indonesia is continue to build infrastructure, including the public transportation. The picture above show that the worker are doing the flyover road project at north Jakarta. Unfortunately the safety are not be come a priority. As we can see, both workers didn't use any safety tools as a preventive effort due to the risk working at high place like that.

Traffic police

Actually this is quite embarassing for our police institution. You see a cop who read the newspaper meanwhile on his back the crowded traffic are still continuing. It's not surprisingly why Indonesia have the crowdest traffic probblem in the world.