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Science In Action: Making Babies Without Eggs?

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Making babies without eggs?

15/09/2016 GMT

Making Babies Without Eggs?

BBC World Service - Science In Action, Making Babies Without Eggs?

Scientist make healthy baby mice by tricking sperm into fertilising “fake” egg.

Mouse sperm can make healthy babies without fertilization in an egg. Also the most precise map of the Milky Way, the Olympics for assistive technology, and robot-built DNA

Could it be possible to make babies without an egg? Early experiments from a team at the University of Bath suggest it might be. Scientists have succeeded in creating healthy baby mice by tricking sperm into believing they were fertilising normal eggs. Instead, they used “pseudo-embryos.” These "fake" embryos share much in common with ordinary cells, such as skin cells, in the way they divide and control their DNA. These embryos normally die without the addition of sperm to make up a complete genome. Until now, it was thought that only eggs could unravel sperm’s DNA in order for fertilisation to occur, but these special embryos can do it too. This suggests that other cells are capable of being fertilised.  

Cybathlon – the Bionic Olympics
The first ever Cybathlon takes place in Switzerland on 8 October. This championship for users of assistive technology makes rehabilitation engineering the star. Featuring events such as brain-computer interface races and stair-climbing wheelchairs races, it ultimately could drive innovation in disability technology.

Mapping the Milky Way
The spaceship Gaia launched in 2013 on a mission to create the most accurate 3D map of the Milky Way ever. This will help answer questions about dark matter, how the Milky Way formed and test general relativity. This week the first data dump was released to the world, containing new information on more than a billion stars.

Robot-built DNA
This summer a fully automated DNA-making facility began operation in Scotland. Scientists at the Edinburgh Genome Foundry are teaching robots how to do manual laboratory tasks in order to be able to produce DNA much faster than before. 

Fish Lose their Personality When at Risk 
When at risk, fish suppress their individual personalities to conform to the group behaviour of others around them. This can make being a bold fish, such as a leader, a very dangerous activity.

Photo: Sperm approaching an unfertilized egg prior to conception, credit: Science Photo Library

Producer: Fiona Roberts
Presenter: Marnie Chesterton

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