søndag den 19. februar 2023

Breeding Without A Male

 

The most famous "Virgin Birth" ever has had a tremendous impact on history and the religious beliefs for centuries. Of course, that was the birth of Jesus by the so-called "Virgin" Mary. If that really happened it truly was a miracle. Some unbelievers will say that Mary pulled off a scam, blaming "The Holy Spirit" for getting her pregnant. Others focus on the implications of Yahwe as a sexual god, impregnating a human and that's a subject that might lead to many more questions that will have wild guesses for "answers". As to Mary being a virgin that may only mean that she was unmarried as the meaning of this special term changed over time.


What I find the most interesting part of a so-called "Virgin Birth" is that what up till now seemed an impossible achievement has proved not to be unachievable. It has been known often to happen in small, spineless animals like e.g. sea stars and stick insects, although not as common in vertebrates. However, a process called "parthenogenesis" which leads to "virgin births", i.e. birth without a male, now has been observed in rays, sharks and skates. They may fertilize their own eggs without any male semen, thus using their own genetic material. More "virginal" that that it can never be!

Skate

Parthenogenesis is most often used by, e.g., sharks when there are no males to mate with, but recent studies at Shedd Aquarium in Chicago has made it clear that females may chose not to breed with males even though these are healthy and in any ways appropriate partners. These females were simply not receptive to males at any time. Some snakes and lizards are the same, but I was surprised to learn that also Chickens and turkeys can use parthenogenesis to fertilize their eggs. Actually, many more animal breeds than has been known up to now have this ability which leads to the big question: WHAT ABOUT HUMANS, CAN WE TOO BREED WITHOUT MEN??????


There is a process that must be fulfilled, and that's almost impossible or dangerous to the mother:
Is it possible for a virgin to give birth?: "Once fertilization—or faux fertilization—occurs, an egg can complete the final stage of a cell division known as meiosis II, during which it loses half of its genetic material to make room for the sperm’s DNA. But if there’s no sperm, each half of the divided egg cell will end up short, and both will die. In order for our virgin birth to proceed, the faux-fertilized egg must, therefore, not complete meiosis. Both of these events—the calcium spike and the division mistake—could occur as the result of random dysfunctions or genetic defects. Assuming they do, the egg cell may then begin the process of “parthenogenesis,” or virginal development. When this happens to an egg-precursor cell, it can give rise to a tumor made up of many different types of tissue—liver, teeth, eye, and hair, for example."

The mother who has endured pregnancy and a birth may want ONE baby at the time, but society which has a need of building and rebuilding the work force that "keeps the wheels going" may want more babies. Maybe they change or blot out some of the rights women have fought for - and obtained - in hope of getting more citizens that will secure "the system". However, for those women who take care of themselves, the biological slavery of former times has ended, and some may even dream of having fatherless babies, thus endangering the family structure that is at the base of patriarchy ....


https://www.livescience.com/58544-virgin-births-in-the-animal-kingdom.html


https://www.popsci.com/environment/shark-virgin-birth-shedd-aquarium/?utm_source=Newsletter+Subscribers&utm_campaign=4bbc5ebcf7-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2023_01_18_03_12&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_387276506e-acf8efd8da-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D#affinity=Animals

 

https://umbc.edu/stories/virgin-births-from-parthenogenesis-how-females-from-some-species-can-reproduce-without-males/ 

 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28818272/ 

 

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5652933/ 

 

https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/parthenogenesis 

 

Wikipedia


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