I’ve been wondering for a while now after learning of organ regeneration - Regenerative medicine - Wikipedia
I’ve been wondering… For transexuals, could they (re)generate an organ that never existed for the person by modifying their DNA? Could they take a preexisting one, drain the DNA, modify the soon-to-be-owner’s DNA, and generate a “new” organ with that?
We are no where near that level of biomedical technology.
I give it 50(number pulled from ass) years, more if stem cells don’t get more funding.
It would require a huge multidisciplinary effort from various fields ranging from molecular biologists to various surgical specialties, so a bit more than just understanding stem cells and tissue engineering.
That being said, we can grow rabbit erectile tissue using cultured cells on a collagen scaffold… So true penile extensions may not be too far off, if they can clear the rather immense neurosurgical, vascular and urosurgical hurdles.
Well, technically, it did exist, at one point in neo-natal development.
A fetus starts out generic (non sexual), and then at a certain point in its’ development starts to grow specialized with male or female organs. (Indeed, some claim that transexuals come from the body developing male parts while the brain developed as female (or vice-versa). But that’s disputed.)
Still, I agree with previous posters that we are far from the level of medical technology that would allow us to use this in regeneration.
[In fact, it seems like it would be much simpler to regenerate body parts that are uniform: new coronary arteries to replace cholesterol-clogged ones, new pancreases for diabetics, new lungs for smokers, etc.]
Sexual differentiation is the result of a cascade of hormones which is ultimately controlled by the action or inaction of DNA.
Rather than modifying the DNA it would be MUCH easier to apply the relevant hormones in the proper doses and timing while the tissue is grown from a stem cell base.
Indeed a testicle is just a proto-ovary that has been subjected to a different hormone environment. Absent the activity of the SRY region of the Y chromosome that embryonic tissue will by default grow into an ovary.
So in this case… We’re actually extremely close to having this done? This is pretty amazing.
Does anyone know if there is any research going into specifically these organs? Genitalia or even the entire reproductive system?
We could probably cause a genetically-male embryo to develop as female, or vice-versa, but that’s a far cry from being able to do the same thing with adults.
No, we’re really not this close. We’re pretty damn far, actually.
So far what I know has been done and actually finished and surgically implanted are grown windpipes and grown livers. I believe hearts are in process, but are damn hard to get to grow properly, as muscle tissue is incredibly complex. Some people are working on teeth, but they’re causing way more trouble than was expected. On the other hand, we’ve been essentially growing skin from small cultures ever since modern burn units have existed.
The best bet for growing new organs are picking things with very few different parts, things that don’t require complicated shapes, and things that only do one or two very specific and non-complex (mechanically or chemically-speaking) jobs. So - skin is an excellent example. Corneas will probably be up soon if they aren’t already. Bones will probably come in after teeth, although I imagine that complex bone shapes will be much harder to grow properly, and good luck getting marrow to work right.
The other important consideration is quality of life and use of the organ. Even when we get good enough to grow bits, I imagine that process will be both time-consuming and very costly for a long time. It’s going to be limited to uses where it has literally life-saving impact, or such obvious social importance to be considered life-saving (like growing someone their own face back rather than transplanting one from someone else). So you’re talking about hearts, livers, kidneys, digestive systems, eyeballs, HANDS for crying out loud.
As much as some people would like us to think, having viable (or matching your preferred gender) genitalia isn’t quite up to that standard for most people.
“No, we’re really not this close. We’re pretty damn far, actually.”
Damn, I was already looking forward to growing some extra penis & pussy.
Speak for yourself. Mine already grows back. In like 15 minutes, too. 30 tops.