Test Tube Koala Bears

Koala bears have been infected with their version of chlamydia, which is creating a big impact both on their numbers and also affecting their sexual performance according to a Guardian story.

Here are a few extracts:

Researchers from the University of Queensland, with the assistance of the Zoological Society of London, are hoping that this new artificial insemination process will help establish a koala sperm bank. Project leader Steve Johnston describes the bank as "an insurance policy" to protect the species.

Although koalas are not yet threatened with extinction, urban development and habitat destruction have reduced their number from millions to fewer than 100,000 in Australia. Populations are classifi ed as "vulnerable" in parts of Queensland and New South Wales. Since they have become isolated in pockets of forest, inbreeding has become a concern, while diseases such as the koala version of chlamydia have left many infertile.

A sperm bank will help manage the genetic diversity of koalas, screen out diseases and reduce the need for koalas to be transported for breeding. Sperm from simple beasts like cattle and humans has been collected, frozen and used for artificial insemination for years. But koalas and other marsupials are more complicated, with their sperm less likely to recover its motility - the ability to move - after it has been thawed from frozen.

Interesting sounds a bit over the top, but i hope the humans solve the problems of these poor marsupials.