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04-26-2004, 07:36 AM
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#1 (permalink) |
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Junkie
Location: San Francisco
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Men becoming obsolete.
So I remember reading an article in a Wierd magazine about a year ago about how women theoretically don't/won't need men to reproduce. The article had a pretty solid foundation, and it always kept me wondering.
Now comes along this mouse thing in which a female mouse has reproduced without any male (The first mammal to do so). This is pretty freaky stuff guys. I mean, evolution will do what it must, but I really don't like the idea of scientists speeding up the process!   -T "By Sid Kirchheimer Reviewed By Brunilda Nazario, MD on Friday, April 23, 2004 WebMD Medical News Are Men Obsolete? Genetically Engineered Mice Reach Adulthood via 'Virgin Birth' April 21, 2004 -- If research in mice holds true, men -- and hence, their manly services -- may no longer be needed. At least that's the indication of a new study boasting a scientific first: Mice that reached adulthood through parthenogenesis, a form of reproduction in which the female egg develops into a live birth without male fertilization. Parthenogenesis, from the Greek word for "virgin birth," is old hat for egg-laying species such as insects, fish, and lizards. With these species, which ironically includes some birds and bees (the very symbol for the more traditional way of making babies), females produce eggs, but they develop without any help or need of would-be fathers. Yet no mammal has ever been known to give birth through parthenogenesis, and previous mice, monkeys, and human embryos created this way have never survived for more than a few days. One major reason: In mammals fathers remain a necessity. Without the genetic material from sperm the placenta develops poorly and the embryo cannot survive. The placenta provides oxygen and nutrients to developing embryos. Does this suggest that other male mammals -- namely, us -- will lose some of our baby-making value? Rest easy, guys, and don't shelve those Barry White tunes just yet. "This is not going to be a straight-forward technique to enable parthenogenetic reproduction of a mammalian species," Australian embryologist Patrick Tam, PhD, tells WebMD. He says that the mice used in his study were not ordinary mice. These mice contained a specifically engineered gene that altered the activity of the other chromosomes. Indeed. These mice developed from eggs that contained only maternal genetic material, unlike other mammals which develop through sexual reproduction and contain genetic material from both parents. In the study the researchers combined chromosomes from cells with a missing key "male" gene -- called H19 -- with chromosomes from a fully grown egg which contains only maternal genes. In the past, embryos created this way died shortly before birth because of a poorly developed placenta. This time the researchers were able to create mice that developed normally and survived for much longer. One of the new pups was even able to reproduce after reaching adulthood. The report appears in this week's Nature. "These findings provide the most compelling genetic evidence that it is absolutely essential to maintain some differences in the activity of genes from the father and the mother for the embryo to grow and develop," says Tam, who wrote an accompanying editorial in Nature but was not involved in the Japanese study. "This phenomenon is called 'genomic imprinting,' whereby the same gene may be marked differently for function depending on from which parent it is inherited." That's important because it could lead to a better understanding about why some human pregnancies fail during the first trimester, says parthenogenesis expert Kent E. Vrana, PhD, of Penn State College of Medicine. "What these researchers found is that in developing mice, parthenogenesis may typically fail at day 10, mid-gestation. But when they tweak the genes, they could get it to day 13. They tweak genes again and reach day 17, and tweak again and get the mice to full-term," he tells WebMD. Full-term pregnancy for mice is typically 19 to 31 days. "This research is not going to provide a tool to create new clones or develop stem cell technologies, but it does provide new information on embryo development," says Vrana, who chairs the pharmacology department. "With better understand of how embryo development works, we could better understand how to correct it when it doesn't -- and better understand why some pregnancies fail early on." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SOURCES: Kono, T. Nature, April 22, 2004; vol 428: pp 860-864. Patrick Tam, PhD, senior principal research fellow, Children's Medical Research Institute, University of Sydney, Australia. Kent. E. Vrana, PhD, Elliot S. Vesell Professor; chair of pharmacology, Penn State College of Medicine, Hershey, Pa. RELATED LINKS China Reports SARS Death Caused by Lab Leak 'Presenteeism' Hurts Employees and Employers Season of Birth May Promote Thrill Seekers Report: SARS Can Spread Through Air Read more in the Healthy Men Health Center © 2004 WebMD Inc. All rights reserved."
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Embracing the goddess energy within yourselves will bring all of you to a new understanding and valuing of life. A vision that inspires you to live and love on planet Earth. Like a priceless jewel buried in dark layers of soil and stone, Earth radiates her brilliant beauty into the caverns of space and time. Perhaps you are aware of those who watch over your home And experience of this place to visit and play with reality. You are becoming aware of yourself as a gamemaster... --Acknowledge your weaknesses-- Last edited by -Ever-; 04-26-2004 at 07:39 AM.. |
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04-26-2004, 07:42 AM
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#2 (permalink) |
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Free Mars!
Location: I dunno, there's white people around me saying "eh" all the time
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Men...obsolete?
Yea right... Who's gonna bring home da meat?!!
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Looking out the window, that's an act of war. Staring at my shoes, that's an act of war. Committing an act of war? Oh you better believe that's an act of war |
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04-26-2004, 02:15 PM
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#5 (permalink) |
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young and in bloom
Location: under the bodhi tree.... *bling*
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yea, even if this happens, not everyone is going to choose to do it and people will still want sex to much. even the porn industry cant cover for the real thing.
now guys becoming personal sex slaves, well thats for another thread 
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"Woke up this morning with a blue moon in my eye" ~A3 "woke up this morning" "Don't compromise yourself, you're all you've got." -Janis Joplin |
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04-26-2004, 02:55 PM
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#6 (permalink) |
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I change
Location: USA
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I'm fine with men becoming obsolete.
In fact, I'm OK with biology becoming obsolete. I look forward to the day when the relatively small number of humans needed to replenish the population are created in laboratories or when we are totally cyberneticized.
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create evolution |
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04-26-2004, 03:36 PM
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#9 (permalink) | |
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hovering in the distance
Location: the land of milk and honey
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Quote:
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no signature required |
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04-26-2004, 04:22 PM
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#10 (permalink) | |
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With a mustache, the cool factor would be too much
Location: left side of my couch, East Texas
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Quote:
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04-26-2004, 05:27 PM
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#12 (permalink) |
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Junkie
Location: Fort Worth, TX
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As long as there is trash that needs to be taken out and a lawn to be mowed women will not get rid of her man.
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"Smite the rocks with the rod of knowledge, and fountains of unstinted wealth will gush forth." - Ashbel Smith as he laid the first cornerstone of the University of Texas |
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04-27-2004, 05:19 PM
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#21 (permalink) | |
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A Real American
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Quote:
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I happen to like the words "fuck", "cock", "pussy", "tits", "cunt", "twat", "shit" and even "bitch". As long as I am not using them to describe you, don't go telling me whether or not I can/should use them...that is, if you want me to continue refraining from using them to describe you. ~Prince |
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