“In the animal world there are species naturally capable of bringing forth new life from an unfertilized egg cell, always or under exceptional circumstances (a case was recently discovered in a female crocodile). But with the help of biotechnology, it has become possible to bypass the male contribution even in species that have always relied on sexual reproduction. By manipulating oocytes in vitro, Chinese researchers succeeded in mice. The latest breakthrough was announced in Current Biology: using CRISPR to turn on and off different combinations of genes, a Cambridge team was able to identify the molecular basis of parthenogenesis in the fruit fly and artificially transfer this trait into a strain that did not have it. After being equipped with the right genetic makeup, some females gave birth to other females, which were also able to reproduce in the absence of males. Of course, we are far from any application on the human species, for both technical and ethical reasons, but there are no risks in exploring with imagination the theoretical possibility that women might be able to procreate on their own.” And this is precisely what I write about in my column today in magazine 7/Corriere della sera.