MadSci Network: Development |
In the lab, could the DNA of one oocyte fertilize another oocyte and produce a zygote? This will still result in the required number of chromosomes and if you manipulated the oocytes, you would not have to worry, as in nature, about using enzymes to get through the zona pellucida. However, would this also not be possible in the lab because of the process called imprinting on paternal and maternal chromosomes? Could imprinting be altered someday? I realize that this is a non-evolutionary line of thinking. We HAVE sexual reproduction to increase genetic variability. However, what can scientists actually manipulate to produce a zygote? And is this something that could be done someday or will humans always have to have a male gamete and a female gamete even in the lab?
Re: Will it ever be possible to combine two human oocytes to form a zygote?
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