Is Virgin Birth Possible? Yes (Unless You Are A Mammal)

Plants and Animals





Photo credit:

A very different nativity scene. Frank/Flickr, CC BY-NC-ND

Christmas seems an appropriate time to ask whether it’s biologically possible to have a virgin birth. And you may be surprised to hear that it is possible – just not for humans, or any other mammals.

Experiments with mice and other mammals show an egg must be fertilised with a sperm to kick off development of any kind. Just stimulating a mammal egg with chemicals or electricity doesn’t trigger it to divide normally.