Procreation without need of men

Press, 23 April 1980, Page 19

Procreation without need of men

Feminist dreams have often been centred on the idea of parthogenesis — the fertilisation of the egg without the aid of sperm, thus producing a wholly female population. But what about the realities?

Experiments have been made towards the fertilisation of mouse eggs without the use of sperm at London’s University College mammalian development unit. They are talked about in' 8.8. C.

“Science Magazine” on Concert radio tonight. Schizophrenia is probably the most important mental illness, affecting roughly one person in every 100 regardless of race, or economic condition. The question of its cause is behind the most bitterly contested . arguments in psychiatry. Is it caused by a chemical imbalance affecting the brain or are ,the causes psychological? Dr David Horrobin, endo-

crinologist at the Medical Research Institute in Montreal, believes he is close to revealing a single cause for schizophrenia and talks about his work in ■this programme. Information being de< rived about the earth’s resources from N.A.S.A.’s Landsat satellite project and research into the mechanisms at work during muscle contraction are other items in this week’s “Science Magazine.”