Theoretically, how could you create an child by joining the dna of two
male sperm cells or two female ova cells?

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Clarification of Question by growyourmind-ga on 17 Feb 2003 02:32 PST

I would like an answer that does not include the use of any biological
material from the other sex.  Thank you

<Dr Callum MacKellar a bioethicist associated with the University of
Edinburgh has highlighted the possibility of creating a child with the
DNA of two sperm or two eggs. This technique would not be considered
cloning as it mixes the DNA of two individuals.

The procedure would involve introducing the DNA from one sperm into an
enucleated egg and fertilizing it with another sperm. One of the
problems that needs to be overcome is the ability of gametic DNA to
recognise DNA of the opposite sex. Also paternal DNA lacks the
imprinting of maternal DNA that allows embryos to develop. In order to
avoid using a female ovum it would also be necessary to develop a
“male egg”. A female ovum contains cytoplasm which feeds the cells as
they start dividing. A normal body cell does not have this large
quantity of cytoplasm. It would therefore be necessary to find a way
of engineering a male body cell to contain sufficient cytoplasm.

Another obstacle that needs to be overcome to totally exclude the role
of women in the production of a child from two males is the carrying
of the embryo. The feature ‘Childness Wave of the Past’ describes how
an artificial environment for the carrying of an embryo could be
developed.

One of the consequences of this form of making a child is that the
majority of the offspring would be female. A child made from the DNA
of two sperm would have only a one in four chance of being male. The
production of a child with the DNA from two eggs, would always result
in female offspring as female DNA only contains the X chromosone.>


<Additional links:>


<Can two men make a baby?>
<http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:GM2jScIU_30C:www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2001/01/31/eggs/print.html+%22two+sperm+cells%22+cloning&hl=en&ie=UTF-8>

<Male couples could have own babies.>
<http://www.geocities.com/sirokai/shininglight/twomen.htm>
< Childlessness wave of the past.>
<http://members.aol.com/MrGayPride/HI4.html>

<Inter-gamete transformation.>
<http://www.mrs.umn.edu/~goochv/summerscholars/abstracts.html>



<Search strategy:>

 <homosexual baby "two sperm">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=homosexual+baby&as_q=%22two+sperm%22>


<Hope this helps.>

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Request for Answer Clarification by growyourmind-ga on 17 Feb 2003 12:59 PST

I'm sorry, but this really does not answer my question.  You say to
not use a ovum you would have to create a cell, but give no
theoretical way to do that.  Every possiblity you give you say there
are numerous problems with it but you provide no suggestions how to
overcomethis problem. It does not have to be capable of being done
with the technology we have now, but to say you can do something only
is can not be done does not seem like an answer to me.  It seems you
did not research very hard.  I found out this much in less than an
hour of my own time.  Can you please elaborate.

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Clarification of Answer by belindalevez-ga on 19 Feb 2003 05:37 PST

<For future reference, you may find it helpful to indicate the depth
of your knowledge in your question to prevent researchers coming up
with information you already have. I have looked further into the
subject and have found the following information.

Cells contain cytoplasm which in turn contain mitochondria which
supply the cell with energy. When an egg first divides it needs energy
to survive. Female egg cells contain a greater amount of cytoplasm
than normal body cells. The dividing cells need this cytoplasm to
provide energy until they attach to the wall of the uterus, where
nourishment is then established via the placenta.

In order to engineer a body cell with sufficient cytoplasm, cytoplasm
would need to be harvested from other cells and injected into the
engineered egg. A technique for extracting cytoplasm from egg cells
and injecting it into other egg cells has been developed by Jacques
Cohen et al of Saint Barnabos. This technique was published in the
Lancet. This technique works by extracting cytoplasm from an egg using
a needle controlled by a robotic arm. The harvested cytoplasm is then
injected into another egg that is then fertilised by sperm.

In experiments to fuse two sets of DNA from two sperm it has been
found that they do not develop into an embryo. Scientists think that
this is due to the imprinting of genes that shows whether or not they
have come from the mother or the father. A gene is imprinted by a
chemical substance called a methyl group. Imprinting results in the
gene being silenced. Research has identified a gene in mice that plays
a role in imprinting genes. See
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2001-12/cuco-rig121101.php . 
Also see: Genomic imprinting and site-specific recombination.
http://216.239.51.100/search?q=cache:f22dBX7Aau4C:www.utoronto.ca/medicalgenetics/PIs/Sadowskilab.htm+DNA+imprinting&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
Around 100-200 imprinted genes are present in the human genome. See:
Imprinting marks clones for death.
http://www.nature.com/nsu/010712/010712-1.html

In order to overcome this imprinting of genes, it would be necessary
to employ a technique to imprint the genes. A great deal more research
would be needed to find techniques which could engineer the genes so
that they are imprinted.

Article published in the Lancet.
Donor Egg Cytoplasm Transfer (Cohen J et al. Lancet 350:186-187,
1997)>

<Additional links:>

<Genetic engineering.>
<http://www.fathom.com/feature/122611>


<Medically assisted reproduction techniques.>
<http://www.sismer.it/eng/sommario/procreazione/libretti/libretto_2.asp>

<Techniques in infertility treatment.>
http://www.mcevoy.demon.co.uk/Medicine/ObsGyn/Gynaecology/Infertility/IVF.html

<Cytoplasmic transfer.>
<http://www.inciid.org/cytoplasmic-transfer.html>

<Cytoplasm.>
<http://sln.fi.edu/qa97/biology/cells/cell3.html>

<Taichung doctor renowned for fertility work.>
<http://www.taiwanheadlines.gov.tw/20010508/20010508s6.html>

<Have infertility specialists pushed the genetic envelope too far this
time?
<http://www.ahcpub.com/ahc_root_html/hot/archive/mea072001.html

<Clinical applications of cytoplasm transfer.
<http://www.fda.gov/OHRMS/DOCKETS/ac/02/transcripts/3855t1-02.pdf

<Conceiving concepts.
<http://www.conceivingconcepts.com/news/v2i06.html


<Search strategy:>

<"cytoplasm transfer">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=%22cytoplasm+transfer%22>

< "imprinting of genes">
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=%22imprinting+of+genes%22>

<DNA imprinting>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=DNA+imprinting>

<gene manipulation techniques>
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=ISO-8859-1&as_qdr=all&q=gene+manipulation+techniques>

<cytoplasm harvesting –plants>
<://www.google.com/search?q=cytoplasm+harvesting+-plants&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&as_qdr=all&start=40&sa=N>

<Hope this helps.>

Your researcher was polite and patient, and came up with good
information.  Thank you.

"One of the consequences of this form of making a child is that the
majority of the offspring would be female. A child made from the DNA
of two sperm would have only a one in four chance of being male."

I don't understand the calculation here.  A sperm carries a single sex
chromosome, either X or Y.  As far as I can make out, the combinations
are therefore XX (female), XY (male) or YY (non-viable).  Since there
is a, more or less, 50-50 split between X and Y sperm, there would be
a one in 3 chance of getting female, one in 3 of getting male, and one
in 3 of getting non-viable if the sperm were combined at random.

Anyway, it would be simple enough to sort the sperm in X ones and Y
ones and combine them as desired.  The technology to do so is nearly
there already: http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/9809/09/baby.sex.02/

Sorry if I was rude initally.  Was having a bad day.  This information
is very good, and you will be paid.  No need to put a lot more work
in, but I am curious, does it work the same for two ova?
Thanks a lot

in response to tehuti-ga's 1/3 vs 1/4 comment:

Actually, the overall probability of a child being male is 1/2, while
the probability of a viable child being male is 2/3.  Sperm A can give
either X or Y, and so can sperm B.  This gives us the following table
of outcomes:

 Sperm A  | Sperm B | outcome
 -----------------------------
     X    |    X    |   female
     X    |    Y    |    male
     Y    |    X    |    male
     Y    |    Y    |   non-viable