Kaguya

Kaguya is a real mouse that has two parents of the same sex. She was named after a Japanese folk tale, in which the moon-born princess Kaguya (Kaguya-hime) is found as a baby inside a bamboo stalk.

Kaguya is one success from 460 attempts at growing embryos.

Contents

1 The process of parthenogenesis

The process of parthenogenesis

A process called haploidisation is used to remove one of the two sets of chromosomes from some cells leaving them with only one, just like sperms and eggs. The researchers lead by Tomohiro Kono at the Tokyo University of Agriculture used cells from two different female mice and combined them to make a single unique animal.

Not a clone

This is not a cloned animal because cells from two individuals are used. This cannot be called asexual reproduction because of the same reason. The entire process used does not have a name as yet. This is totally new and an unexpected field of research on mammals.

Ethics and future

Could this process be used on humans? Unlikely, as the process used starts with genetically modified mice.

Kaguya the mouse has since given birth to conventionally fathered offspring.

External links

SBS story on Kaguya.