Scientists have discovered a way of creating offspring without the need for a female egg.
The landmark experiment carried out at the University of Bath, has turned nature on its head, even paving the way for babies to be born from the DNA of two men.
This challenges a century of thinking that only an EGG fertilised by a sperm cell can result in birth.
Now here comes the science bit!
Well, researchers first tricked a mouse egg into developing into an embryo. Because embryo cells copy themselves completely when they divide, they closely resemble skin cells which do that too (Us Mamas know this all too well as professional knee healers)
So the scientists then injected the embryo with sperm and it resulted in a healthy mouse which went on to have its own babies.
The study's Dr Tony Perry from the
University of Bath said the results had the potential to rewrite biological thinking
"Some people say start the day with an egg, but what this paper says is that you don't necessarily have to start development with one. We are talking about different ways of making embryos. Imagine you could take skin cells and make embryos from them. This would have all types of utility"
Today's
Telegraph reports that the technique could raise the possibility of gay men having a child who's DNA is half of each man. In this instance, a woman would be required to carry the baby as a surrogate.
It also opens up new opportunities for women who's fertility has been destroyed by cancer treatment or radiotherapy.
The team, lead by Dr Perry, now plans to take the next big step of attempting to produce live offspring from injecting sperm into skin cells.
Do you feel this a natural advance in biological understanding or just a manipulation of Mother Nature? Let us know your thoughts!
