For the first time, scientists have been able to develop male and female near-identical human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) from the same person.

hiPSCs are a valuable biological tool. These are cells that can be reprogrammed to return to a stem cell-like state. They are used for therapeutics, and molecular investigations of diseases and cellular behavior. However, it can be difficult to determine sex differences in hiPSCs, which is important as the different sexes can experience different disease incidence rates, medication responses, and symptoms.

In humans (and yes, it does differ depending on the organism) biological sex is determined by the sex chromosomes. In females, there are two X chromosomes (XX); in males, one X and one Y chromosome (XY). However, some conditions cause the sex chromosome ratios to differ from the typical.

You can read more about this in an article by Dr. Beccy Corkill published in the IFLscience web site at https://tinyurl.com/22hbku3a.