Parthenogenesis is unknown in human beings. It has been reported in lizards though. Of course, cloning is an asexual reproduction, but that requires medical intervention. Left on their own, humans cannot reproduce asexually.
Although the discovery of Chinese scientists opened the door for asexual reproduction in mammals, the simple answer to whether this is possible in humans is still a no.
Asexual Reproduction. When humans reproduce, there are two parents involved. DNA must be passed from both the mother and father to the child. Humans cannot reproduce with just one parent; humans can only reproduce sexually.
Some times the humans reproduce asexually as well. It takes place without fertilisation of the gametes. In the case of monozygotic twins. In this the fertilisation of the egg takes place sexually and the embryo is formed but the embryo splits into two by the method of asexual division.
The biggest disadvantage of asexual reproduction is lack of diversity. Because members of an asexually reproducing population are genetically identical except for rare mutants, they are all susceptible to the same diseases, nutrition deficits, and other types of environmental hardships.
It is because they do not grow old and die instead. They reproduce asexually and make offspring and they themselves become daughter cells. Usually, prokaryotes like Amoeba undergo only binary division, which is an asexual form of reproduction.
Once the parent cell divides, the two daughter cells can live and reproduce, each continuing their parent's lineage. This process can continue indefinitely, resulting in an immortal population of genetically identical cells.
A new study led the University of Lausanne in Switzerland in collaboration with the University of Cologne in Germany has found that parthenogenesis can negatively affect the genome evolution of the animals that practice it, by reducing genetic diversity and leading to adaptation problems.
Spontaneous parthenogenetic and androgenetic events occur in humans, but they result in tumours: the ovarian teratoma and the hydatidiform mole, respectively.
The process in which sperm from the male parent fertilizes an egg from the female parent generating an offspring, which is genetically distinct from both the parents is sexual reproduction. Not all living organisms reproduce sexually, there are some living organisms, which also reproduce asexually.
Asexual reproduction includes fission, budding, fragmentation, and parthenogenesis, while sexual reproduction is achieved through the combination of reproductive cells from two individuals.
Animals that reproduce asexually include planarians, many annelid worms including polychaetes and some oligochaetes, turbellarians and sea stars. Many fungi and plants reproduce asexually. Some plants have specialized structures for reproduction via fragmentation, such as gemmae in liverworts.
Most animals that procreate through parthenogenesis are small invertebrates such as bees, wasps, ants, and aphids, which can alternate between sexual and asexual reproduction. Parthenogenesis has been observed in more than 80 vertebrate species, about half of which are fish or lizards.
What is an example of asexual reproduction in humans?
Monozygotic twins : Monozygotic twins are an example of this. The egg is fertilized sexually, and the embryo is produced, but the embryo splits into two via asexual division.
Humans cannot asexually reproduce because for the offspring to be created, you need a sperm cell and an egg cell. Only females carry and produce egg cells and only males carry and produce sperm cells. Resulting in the inability to asexually reproduce.
To date, there's only one species that has been called 'biologically immortal': the jellyfish Turritopsis dohrnii. These small, transparent animals hang out in oceans around the world and can turn back time by reverting to an earlier stage of their life cycle.