Gay Mice Can Have Babies Now
A healthy baby was produced from two male mice
In a recent scientific study, two male mice had their DNA genetically altered to let them produce a healthy baby. This is a very interesting breakthrough in genetics, and could lead to more possibilities for gay couples in the future. A very similar study has been done before with two female mice, but the results weren’t as promising. The offspring of the two females had health problems, and wasn’t as healthy as a normal mouse. The gay mice are looking promising though. Even though this is at its early stages, it could mean a lot in the future.
This process was done in a very interesting way. It starts with taking a skin sample of one of the mice and turning it into a stem cell, which is a cell that can transform into a lot of other types of cells. Since the mice are males, they have XY chromosomes, unlike females with XX chromosomes. They somehow delete one X chromosome and replace it with a Y chromosomes. This allows the stem cell to be turned into an egg which can be fertilized to make a baby mouse, perfectly healthy.
Professor Hayashi, the scientist who created this experiment said, “It was likely existing hurdles could be overcome in ten years, and if proven safe to use, he would like to see it available as a fertility treatment for both male and female and same-sex couples.” While it isn’t a fully complete idea with proven results, it could be a massive improvement for the LGBTQ+ community if fully realized. If it doesn’t end up working as it is intended, It is still cool to see it done.
RELATED STORIES:
https://interestingengineering.com/science/baby-from-two-male-mice
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/news-gene-editing-crispr-mice-stem-cells
https://www.bbc.com/news/health-45801043
https://www.them.us/story/scientists-make-baby-mice-from-cells-of-two-fathers
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