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      [–]MarkTwainiac 5 insightful - 1 fun5 insightful - 0 fun6 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

      we all are a bunch of cells as embryos, during embryonic development, the stem cells become egg or sperm. That's what they do in the lab, they take the stem cell of someone, and turn it into sperm or egg, which is exactly what happens in embryonic development. They are redoing what happened to everyone of us when were were embryos in the lab now, recreating the same situation.

      You seem to be suggesting that during the embryo stage of development, all human cells only become - and only have the possibility of becoming - either egg or sperm. This is not true. Embryonic stem cells have the capacity to differentiate into hundreds of different types of cells:

      Human embryonic stem (ES) cells capture the imagination because they are immortal and have an almost unlimited developmental potential (Fi

      After many months of growth in culture dishes, these remarkable cells maintain the ability to form cells ranging from muscle to nerve to blood—potentially any cell type that makes up the body. The proliferative and developmental potential of human ES cells promises an essentially unlimited supply of specific cell types for basic research and for transplantation therapies for diseases ranging from heart disease to Parkinson's disease to leukemia. Here we discuss the origin and properties of human ES cells, their implications for basic research and human medicine, and recent research progress...

      https://stemcells.nih.gov/info/Regenerative_Medicine/2006Chapter1.htm

      Your posts also indicate you don't think any part of the human body begins developing in the first 8 weeks of life other than the gonads (or the potential gametes that will reside in/issue from or be produced by the gonads? or sumpin' like that). This too is not true.

      Here's what happens in the first 4 weeks of human development:

      • All major systems and organs begin to form

      • The embryo looks like a tadpole

      • The neural tube (which becomes the brain and spinal cord), the digestive system, and the heart and circulatory system begin to form

      • The beginnings of the eyes and ears are developing

      • Tiny limb buds appear (which will develop into arms and legs)

      • The heart is beating

      By the end of the 8th week of human embryo development:

      • All major body systems continue to develop and function, including the circulatory, nervous, digestive, and urinary systems

      • The embryo is taking on a human shape, although the head is larger in proportion to the rest of the body

      • The mouth is developing tooth buds (which will become baby teeth)

      • The eyes, nose, mouth, and ears are becoming more distinct

      • The arms and legs can be easily seen

      • The fingers and toes are still webbed, but can be clearly distinguished

      • The main organs continue to develop and you can hear the baby's heartbeat using an instrument called a Doppler

      • The bones begin to develop and the nose and jaws are rapidly developing

      • The embryo is in constant motion but cannot be felt by the mother ***

      *** I don't believe this statement has ever been proven (and isn't hard to prove a negative anyway?) Indeed, many mothers would say our "lived experience" suggests it's a myth/belief/assertion made up by men that's not necessarily true. At all. Lots of women have reported having sensations in early pregnancy that we believe was movement of the embryo. Some women who've miscarried during the first eight weeks have said they could feel it happening. Lots of women can feel the moment we ovulate; if it's the case that we can feel when one of our ovaries releases an egg, why assume it's impossible for any of us to feel an embryo developing and moving in our uterus?

      https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=first-trimester-85-P01218

      BTW, before going any further down the rabbit hole of Dr Frankenstein scenarios that seem to have so captured your fancy, I think you would benefit by looking at some basic biology books online, as well as ones that explain/show how human embryos and fetuses develop. There's lots of illustrated material out their geared for expectant parents explaining what happens each step of the way.

      I suspect if you looked into these matters further you'd find it's really not the case that today scientists only need "a lab and technology" to create a brave new world where, as you put it,

      Everyone can produce sperm or egg, in the lab, if they take one of their somatic cells, or stem cells.

      https://journals.plos.org/plosgenetics/article?id=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008676