Sex success for lab grown Rabbit Penis Sex success for lab-grown rabbit penis Thursday, September 12, 2002 Scientists have grown major parts of rabbits' penises in the laboratory. The segments were grown from the animals' own cells and they were able to use the reconstructed organs to mate, according to New Scientist magazine. The next step is to try to recreate the entire organ from scratch, it said. The technique could make it possible to rebuild the penises of men who have been injured or those of children born with genital abnormalities, the magazine added. It could also provide an alternative to current methods for enlarging the penis, such as injecting fat cells, it said. A patient would have penile cells removed by a doctor and, a few weeks later the organ, or parts of it grown using the cells, could be surgically implanted. After the surgery the rabbits behaved true to type, trying to have sex within 30 seconds of being put in a cage with a female. "They were able to copulate, penetrate and produce sperm," Anthony Atala, of Harvard Medical School, whose team carried out the work, told the magazine. The penises generated about half of the normal pressure of an erect penis. "It's analogous to the penis of a 60-year-old man, versus that of a 30-year-old," Mr Atala said. It may be a while before the technique is tried with human tissue, the magazine said.
		Story filed: 19:37 Wednesday 11th September 2002 © 2002 Ananova Ltd
		[home] - [info.] - [links] - [list] - [e-mail] Arctic Fox DesignEmail: webmaster@ftminfo.net