I seem to recall a science article on this topic. It seemed that when two
ova were fused, the resulting foetus was overdeveloped and teh placenta
underdeveloped. Presumably, fusing two sperm cels would result in an
overdeveloped placenta and underdeveloped foetus.

---
Rhialto

-----Original Message-----
From: Steven Cornett <cornetts@gemair.com>
To: ffml@fanfic.com <ffml@fanfic.com>
Date: 21 October 1998 22:38
Subject: RE: [FFML] Re: [limeish][Ranma][dark]a bet that didn't make it

On 21-Oct-98, Chan Wei Lik wrote:

From: Steven Cornett [cornetts@gemair.com]

This is not even taking into account technological development in biotech

and fertility changing the equation somehow

As I said, artifical insemination, you don't need the male, just his

sperm.

I'm not sure, but is it possible to induce an egg cell to undergo
spontaenous division, without the presence of a sperm cell? With that,

males

become redundant.

  I do not believe that can happen, or if it could you would merely have
two egg cells awaiting sperm instead of one.
  The one thing most people think could allow for parthenogenesis is not
possible.  In the book "Recreating Eden", about cloning and its

implications

on society, the author notes that a biologist attempted to fuse two egg
cells to create a viable embryo.  The surprising result is that it was
impossible for an two eggs to fuse to become a fetus because part of the
genes in sperm (even X chromasome sperm) has a lock-key combination of
some sort to prevent this.
  However, it is possible to fuse two fertilized eggs into a chimera.
The individual would then have the characteristics of both eggs.  Thus,
a lesbian couple could, with present technology, concieve a pair of
children each with the genes of the couple (and a male sperm donor).
  In the future, with research, it is possible that a post Red Plague
society could find the key and create an articificial sperm to inject
into one of the eggs, making it receptive to fusion with another egg
to create a female individual (actually, if the articifical sperm is
W, the individual would be XXW instead of XX).
  That would be the development making males redundent!

may be permanently matriarchal in nature.

The Amazons are gonna have a party over this!

  Yeah, but having no males to enslave is no fun!

Steven P. Cornett
cornetts@gemair.com