From the archive: Mouse created without a genetic father - 22 April, 2004

A MOUSE that is the “daughter” of two mothers has been created by scientists in a break-through that could be as controversial as cloning, it was revealed last night.

The mouse, named Kaguya after a Japanese fairytale character, is the first mammal to be born without an egg being fertilised.

Such a “virgin birth”, known as parthenogenesis, can occur naturally in a wide range of animals, including insects, rep-tiles and birds, but it is never seen in mammals and, until now, most scientists thought it never would be.

A team of Japanese and Korean scientists proved the doubters wrong by creating Kaguya from the genes of two female mice.

The achievement, reported in the journal Nature, has far-reaching implications and opens a new door of repro-ductive research.