
Baby shark born to single mother – without a father – after apparent parthenogenesis
CBSN
A female shark gave birth to a pup at the Brookfield Zoo in Illinois this year – despite the baby having no father. The female epaulette shark was never housed with a male shark but produced a fertile egg without the need for a male, the zoo said in a news release.
The baby was born in August to the 3-year-old mother, even though epaulette sharks usually reach sexual maturity at age 7. The process of developing an embryo without a fertilized egg cell is called parthenogenesis.
Parthenogenesis, which means "virgin creation" in Greek, occurs mainly in some jawed vertebrates, but is unnatural for mammals, according to the National Institutes of Health. It may occur in whiptail lizards, komodo dragons, bonnethead sharks and other animals, according to Science.org.

Robert Morris, founding pastor of Gateway Church, a megachurch in Southlake, Texas, has been indicted on five counts of lewd or indecent acts with a child, stemming from alleged incidents dating back to the 1980s, the Oklahoma attorney general's office announced Wednesday. We are aware of the actions being taken by the legal authorities in Oklahoma and are grateful for the work of the justice system in holding abusers accountable for their actions. We continue to pray for Cindy Clemishire and her family, for the members and staff of Gateway Church, and for all of those impacted by this terrible situation.