Parthenogenesis came from the greek word "parthenos" for Virgin and "genesis" for birth. The story of Jesus is an example of this "Virgin Birth" by the Virgin Mary.
credit: imgkid.com
Parthenogenesis even appears on the blockbuster movie Jurassic Park 3 and also at the season 5 TV episode "Joy to the world" in House MD wherein a patient comes to the clinic with a terrible headache which deduces by House that she is pregnant, much to her surprise. The woman insists that she and her fiance are virgins, and asks for House to run a paternity test after he suggests that she has had an affair. He does run the test, in which he faked and states that she is pregnant as a result of human parthenogenesis. Her baby only has maternal genes due to a spontaneous gene mutation which fertilized her egg, without ever needing male sperm. Her baby will be a virgin birth.
A study was published by the British Medical Journal that one in two hundred US women claim to have given birth without ever having had sexual intercourse or having an In-vitro Fertilization (IVF). Human parthenogenesis is a never-seen-before scientific phenomenon and is not yet proven that it is possible.
But other animals are capable of virgin births although we really don't understand how, scientist believed that this is triggered by extreme situations such as abundance of resources or either lack of males.
These are some of the animals that are capable of virgin birth.
1. Komodo dragon.
Credits: cincinnatizoo.org
2. Sharks.
Credits: www.livescience.com
3. Snakes.
credits: animalcorner.co.uk
4. Whiptail lizard.
credit: tucsonherpsociety.org
5. Honey bee.
credits: heavenawaits.wordpress.comReferences:
http://www.independent.co.uk/
http://www.findingdulcinea.com/
http://www.bbc.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/
