Startup Claims It Successfully Grew Human Sperm in a Dish For the First Time to Help Infertile Men (10 minute read)
A Utah startup claims to have grown functional human sperm in a lab dish for the first time, potentially offering a path for infertile men to have biological children.
What: Paterna Biosciences says it extracted sperm-making stem cells, cultured them in lab dishes using computer-modeled chemical signals to recreate a healthy development environment, and produced mature sperm that created healthy-looking embryos through fertilization.
Why it matters: If independently validated, this could provide a reproductive option for men unable to produce viable sperm naturally, though the breakthrough remains an unverified company claim.
Original article
Utah-based startup Paterna Biosciences claims it has successfully grown functional human sperm in a dish. The startup says it has even used these engineered cells to create visibly healthy-looking embryos. Paterna's team extracted sperm-making stem cells, placed them in a lab dish, and used computer models to calculate the exact chemical signals the cells needed to thrive. The procedure aims to recreate a healthy environment in the lab, then use the cultured mature sperm for fertilization.