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die_kuestenwache t1_j36z7gg wrote

There is a mechanism called genetic imprinting in higher mammals, which is thought to make the genesis of a fully functional organism without both a full set male and female genes highly unlikely to succeed. It is a topic of ongoing research, whether it is still possible to induce parthogenesis in a lab. It has never been observed in mammals in nature.

[Edit] this took me like 5 minutes to google. But I thought it was so interesting that I summarized it as a thank you for making me learn something today.

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Bbrhuft t1_j3giwdm wrote

About 30 years ago, mother in the UK asked for her child to be medically examined because his face was quite asymmetrical, genetic analysis failed to detect any paternal DNA in his blood. After some complex genetic analysis doctors came to the rather startling conclusion that he was a parthenogenetic chimaera, about half his cells only contained DNA from his mother. The child died a few years later, but his death wasn't related to his condition.

They concluded it is was most likely an unfertilised ovum divided parthenogenically (without fertilisation), it almost formed a teratoma (ovarian teratomas form partenogenetically) but one half was fertilized by a sperm. The result merged to form a viable foetus.

The nearest recognised example of a human virgin birth.

Here is the article.

Strain, L., Warner, J.P., Johnston, T., and Bonthron, D.T., 1995. A human parthenogenetic chimaera. Nature genetics, v. 11, no. 2, p. 164–169.

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