..."Dr. Hwang said he had derived embryonic stem cells from the adult cells of a patient, but the claim was discredited after parts of his research were found to have been faked. A team of Boston scientists has now re-examined stocks of Dr. Hwang’s purported embryonic stem cells and arrived at a surprising conclusion: His embryonic stem cells were the product of parthenogenesis, or virgin birth, meaning they were derived from an unfertilized egg. "..."Other researchers have since developed embryonic stem cells from parthenogenetic eggs, but Dr. Hwang’s team would have been the first to do so had its members recognized what they had done."..."Although some creatures can reproduce by parthenogenesis, virgin birth would be a miracle in humans because the chromosomes from the mother and father each carry special chemical imprints, and both are required for normal development. Parthenogenetic embryos, in which both sets of chromosomes carry a female imprint, are not viable. But Dr. Daley said that a case is known of a male patient who is a parthenochimera (“chimera” meaning an individual who is composed of two different types of cell). Two embryos, one normal and one parthenogenetic, fused in the womb. Some of the patient’s cells have the X and Y chromosomes of a normal man, but his blood has the two X chromosomes of parthenogenetic cells, evidently an instance of semi-virgin birth. "...

"Parthenogenetic activation of human oocytes may be one way to produce histocompatible cells for cell-based therapy. We report the successful derivation of six pluripotent human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines from blastocysts of parthenogenetic origin. The parthenogenetic human embryonic stem cells (phESC) demonstrate typical hESC morphology, express appropriate markers, and possess high levels of alkaline phosphatase and telomerase activity. The phESC lines have a normal 46, XX karyotype, except one cell line, and have been cultured from between 21 to 35 passages. The phESC lines form embryoid bodies in suspension culture and teratomas after injection to immunodeficient animals and give differentiated derivatives of all three embryonic germ layers. DNA profiling of all six phESC lines demonstrates that they are MHC matched with the oocyte donors. The study of imprinted genes demonstrated further evidence of the parthenogenetic origin of the phESC lines. Our research has resulted in a protocol for the production of human parthenogenetic embryos and the derivation of stem cell lines from them, which minimizes the presence of animal-derived components, making the derived phESC lines more suitable for potential clinical use."