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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.
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 normal gametes. 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, or parthenogenesis, for 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. "The goal of our study was to discover why sperm and eggs were required for development in mammals," Kono said. *Ethics and future
Because the process begins with genetically modified mice, it is unlikely that this process could be used on humans.
Kaguya the mouse has since given birth to conventionally fathered offspring.
See also
External links
- SBS story on Kaguya.
- National Geographic story
"Kaguya"