From the archive: Mouse created without a genetic father - 22 April, 2004
The mouse, named Kaguya after a Japanese fairytale character, is the first mammal to be born without an egg being fertilised.
Such a “virgin birth”, known as parthenogenesis, can occur naturally in a wide range of animals, including insects, rep-tiles and birds, but it is never seen in mammals and, until now, most scientists thought it never would be.
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Hide AdA team of Japanese and Korean scientists proved the doubters wrong by creating Kaguya from the genes of two female mice.
The achievement, reported in the journal Nature, has far-reaching implications and opens a new door of repro-ductive research.