Providing a way out of a thorny ethical dilemma, scientists have developed a kind of cells called Pluripotent cells, using men’s testicles to create cells which perform the same functions as Stem Cells.

Stem cells, traditionally extracted from human embryos, have the unique property that they can divide and grow into any human organ, offering a solution to a number of illnesses, including Parkinson's disease, diabetes and spinal cord injury.

Harvesting stem cells from human embryos however, is illegal in the US and other countries, because harvesting the master cells destroys the embryo, arguably ending a nascent human life.

In a search for methods to obtain cells that are just as versatile as stem cells, but without the ethical issues, German researchers came up with an alternative which they published in Thursday’s issue of the journal Nature.

Testicular cells aren’t the only ones to show promise in stem cells research, other efforts have seen a measure of success in reprogramming ordinary body cells to become Pluripotent cells by inserting certain genes into them.

Until those methods are developed, women are out of luck as far as an easy alternative to embryonic stem cells because, according to stem cell researcher George Daley, using women’s egg cells as an alternative is unlikely due to their makeup.

This new research shows how similar spermatogonial cells can be to embryonic cells, but researchers are now focusing on how they are different, a detail which may be essential to future research.