He said many of those who put themselves down at Christian did so because they thought of themselves "as a good person" rather than due to belief in the virgin birth, or of Jesus Christ as the son of God.

BBC: Prof Richard Dawkins

Although extremely rare in vertebrates, parthenogenesis (out of the Greek for "virgin birth") occurs in a number of lower animals.

BBC: NEWS | Science/Nature | Captive shark had 'virgin birth'

Indeed, Wolbachia's genes are so manipulative that they can convert male insects to females, kill males, induce virgin birth in females and even cause the offspring of males to die unless they carry the very same strain of Wolbachia as the father.

WSJ: Matt Ridley on Selfish DNA | Mind & Matter