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Mouse stem cells can help to grow mouse sperm in laboratory settings, discover scientists in China. The findings are published in the journal Cell Stem Cell.

With embryonic mouse stem cells, scientists created spermlike cells injected into nearly 400 egg cells in order to create embryos, reports The Washington Post.

The embryos could develop in female mice, creating "healthy and fertile offspring".

"Reproducing germ cell [reproductive cells] development in vitro has remained a central goal in both reproductive biology and reproductive medicine," said co-senior author Jiahao Sha, from Nanjing Medical University.

In cases of male infertility, precursor cells in the testes are not able to undergo a special type of cell division called meiosis, says scienceworldreport.

Moreover, infertility affects 15 percent of couples. Among these, a third of the cases can be traced back to those who have male reproductive issues.

"If proven to be safe and effective in humans, our platform could potentially generate fully functional sperm for artificial insemination or in-vitro fertilisation techniques," Sha added. "Because currently available treatments do not work for many couples, we hope that our approach could substantially improve success rates for male infertility."

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