Scientists Use Stem Cells To Create Mice With Two Genetic Fathers

Wednesday, December 8, 2010 - 18:00 in Biology & Nature

Mice Two Dads Image by John Mahoney. Original images by Giang Hồ Thị Hoàng and Political Carnival Using stem cell technology, scientists have produced male and female mice from two fathers, a breakthrough that could conceivably allow same-sex couples to have their own genetic children. The multi-generational technique combines genes from the chromosomes of two male mice and uses surrogate mothers, according to researchers at the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center at the University of Texas. To produce the male and female offspring, the team first manipulated tissue cells from a male mouse fetus to produce an induced pluripotent stem cell line. Without explaining why, the team says about one percent of these iPS cells spontaneously lost their Y chromosomes, resulting in XO cells. In humans, this monosomy is known as Turner syndrome; girls with the disorder usually have various physical abnormalities and cognitive defects. Normally, people have one pair of sex...

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