Are Parthenogenic Human Embryos a Solution?
Under the “techno-jargon” title “Multilineage potential of homozygous stem cells derived from metaphase II oocytes,” a group of researchers from the Stemron Corporation and Reproductive Biology Association have just reported on their creation–via a technique known as parthenogenesis–of human embryos for the purpose of obtaining stem cells (Stem Cells 2003:21:152-161). What is parthenogenesis? Parthenogenesis is a process (sometimes referred to as a “virgin birth”) in which an embryo is created solely from a female oocyte without any genetic contribution from a male.1 Ultimately, the goal is to produce an embryo with a full genetic complement (“diploid,” or having 46 chromosomes) either by stimulating eggs that are still diploid to divide or by inducing an egg with 23 chromosomes to replicate its genetic material. (Eggs halve their genetic complement [going from 46 to 23 chromosomes] relatively late in their maturation cycle, so if early activation is done, a full set of genes is reta
