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Science produces healthy mice with two biological fathers [1]

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Date: 2023-03-12  

Not the same species, but these little fellas sure are cute. (DK library, uploaded by The Marti)

Now I know what it like to have two personalities, or actually several, all carrying on at the same time.

Young second-wave feminist me starts to feel outraged: "Next the patriarchy is going to try and figure out a way to propagate themselves without women except as vessels, and that will be worse than Gilead!"

A more mature version is musing, "Surrogacy already raises all sorts of issues. But we are learning to cope."

The animal-lover in me winces, "I hate animal experimentation."

The total cynic wants to know why, with 8 billion people already pervading the planet, and children needing adoption, and resources short, and global heating, why human beings would go to so very much trouble to create more forms of fertility.

The former biology student is fascinated and struck with wonder at the advance of science since DNA first began to be unraveled...within one lifetime.

And meanwhile, the most basic aspect of myself is absolutely grinning from ear to ear.

The Guardian had this Friday. And here is more detail, appearing in Nature.

It's not quite the first time that baby mice have been produced from the DNA of two males, but is the first time this method was used and the first time the young turned out healthy enough to grow up. They have now produced young of their own (this time in the natural way).

To be clear, though: this technique is not immediately going to be applicable in the human species. Challenges are much greater.

A paper on the study--as yet unpublished--was presented last week at the Third International Summit on Human Genome Editing, in London, by research team leader Katsuhiko Hayashi of Japan's Kyushu University.

Nature reported that the scientists started with

cells taken from an adult male mouse. They reprogrammed these to create stem-cell-like induced pluripotent stem cells. The team grew these cells in culture until some of them had spontaneously lost their Y chromosomes. (As in humans, the cells of male mice typically contain one X and one Y chromosome.) They then treated the cells with a compound called reversine, which can promote errors in how chromosomes are distributed during cell division, and looked for cells that were chromosomally female, with two copies of the X chromosome. From there, the team provided the induced pluripotent stem cells with the genetic signals needed to form immature eggs. They then fertilized the eggs using mouse sperm and transferred the resulting embryos into the uterus of a female mouse.​​​​​

The odds were tough. Out of more than 600 embryos, only seven developed into babies. But it constituted "proof of concept." If difficulties can be overcome--such as the longer development time required in vitro for human embryos--some day, some day, it may actually become possible for a gay male couple, with help from a surrogate, to have their own biological child.

Per The Guardian:

“Purely in terms of technology, it will be possible [in humans] even in 10 years,” [Hayashi] said, adding that he personally would be in favour of the technology being used clinically to allow two men to have a baby if it were shown to be safe.

As well, reportedly there are certain fertility problems the technique could help address. More concerningly, it is possible that a child could be conceived using the DNA of just one single individual, another scientist observes.

Scientists have not yet created eggs from female body cells, or offspring from the DNA of two females.

Meanwhile, though, in spite of the world's many troubles:

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/3/12/2157590/-Science-produces-healthy-mice-with-two-biological-fathers

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