Chinese scientists have created a mice using two eggs and without a sperm, which is seen as a pioneering feat in reproductive science. (Photo : www.scmp.com)
Scientists in Shanghai have made a major reproductive breakthrough by creating mice using two eggs without a sperm, China Daily reported.
The report said that the team's pioneering feat was achieved by modifying an egg and making it work as a sperm replacement and injecting it in another egg to activate fertilization.
The discovery was published in China-based international scientific journal Cell Research on Nov. 17.
To create a line of cells, the scientists stimulated cell division of a mature egg through chemical means, according to the report. They modified one cell by removing two genes and injected the cell into another egg as part of artificial fertilization process.
"In our experiments, more than 15 out of 100 embryos finally developed into mice. They are healthy and show no difference in development and fertility from the ones that are naturally conceived," said Zhong Cuiqing, one of the researchers in the team. The team was led by Li Jinsong from the Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, a branch of Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences under the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
Zhong said that the success rate can be considered surprisingly high since the rate of the regular artificial fertilization involving an egg and sperm-derived haploid cell on mice is between 20 and 30 percent.
The scientists also conducted experiments to determine if two sperm cells can create the next generation, but the experiments failed.
The study is a revolutionary step as it comes close to proving that mammals can possibly reproduce without the need for sperm. But it has also raised concerns.
"It will trigger severe ethical problems if such technique is applied to human beings," said Li Yinhe, China's best known sexologist. "The whole social order would substantially change."
Liu Ping, deputy director of the fertility center of Peking University Third Hospital, said that more discussions have to be made on whether to apply an assisted reproductive technology to humans both technically and ethically. She expressed belief that such innovation will not bring negative effects on the human society.
