Friday, October 30, 2009

Parthenogenesis and the future of homosexual families

The term parthenogenesis refers to the growth an development of an embryo or seed without fertilization by a male. This occurs naturally in some plants, invertebrates (water fleas, aphids) and some vertebrates (lizards, salamanders, some fish and even turkeys). Scientists have created mice babies from two female mice. No male mice or sperm were involved. The offspring were all female. How did this happen and will humans soon have the option to create babies without men? And what could this mean for the future of lesbians wanting to have children? Although lesbians are having children through artificial insemination, it is not yet possible for two women to produce offspring that comes from both of their genetic material. Is it possible this might become a reality in the future? The procedure used by the Japanese scientists is currently unreliable because it took 460 tries to conceive one mouse. It has not been proven safe, or even possible for humans to reproduce through parthenogenesis. There is a possibility that, with further work and study, it could become an option available to women who seek the assistance of fertility clinics. The process was more complicated than just combining genetic material from two mice. Basically the scientists created a genetically modified mouse. Researchers are quick to say they do not know if this method can be applied to humans.

1. What kind of reproduction is parthenogenesis?
2. Explain the difference between parthenogenesis and metamorphosis.
3.How does the process of parthenogenesis involve human eggs?

3 comments:

  1. 1.) Parthenogenesis is a type of asexual reproduction because it is done by one parent.
    2.) In parthogenesis, an embryo is formed from an unfertilized egg. Metamorphosis is when an animal is physically developing after birth.
    3. Scientists are still trying to manipulate and artificially stimulate human eggs in this process.

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  2. When you fertilize human egg #1 with the polarbody off human egg#2, and human egg #2 with polar body #1, you will get complementary twins: 100% same parents but no gene in common.
    It's a kind of overcross-parthenogenesis.

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  3. 1. It is a type of asexual reproduction.
    2. Metamorphis takes place after an organisms birth. Parthenogenesis is when a embryo that was not fertilized produces an offspring. This things are in different because they take place at different times during the life cylce.
    3. Right now researchers are still trying to find a way for humans to reproduce through parthogenisis. So far the technics used in nonhuman mammals seem impossible to be done in humans.

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