News Are Human-Animal Chimeras the Future of Medical Science?

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Recent discussions highlight the emergence of hybrid animals, known as chimeras, resulting from advanced stem cell research. In Minnesota, pigs have been born with human blood, while in Nevada, sheep possess human-like organs, and California mice have human brain cells. These experiments involve integrating human stem cells into animal fetuses, raising significant ethical concerns about genetic manipulation and the potential risks of disease transmission between species. Participants express apprehension about the implications of creating such hybrids, particularly regarding human health and the moral considerations of using animals in genetic research. The conversation also touches on the potential benefits of these advancements for medical purposes, such as organ transplants, while questioning the necessity and safety of altering natural evolutionary processes. Overall, the debate underscores the tension between scientific progress and ethical responsibility in the realm of genetic engineering.
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In Minnesota, pigs are being born with human blood in their veins.

In Nevada, there are sheep whose livers and hearts are largely human.

In California, mice peer from their cages with human brain cells firing inside their skulls.

These are not outcasts from "The Island of Dr. Moreau," the 1896 novel by H.G. Wells in which a rogue doctor develops creatures that are part animal and part human. They are real creations of real scientists, stretching the boundaries of stem cell research.

Biologists call these hybrid animals chimeras, after the mythical Greek creature with a lion's head, a goat's body and a serpent's tail. They are the products of experiments in which human stem cells were added to developing animal fetuses. [continued]
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6534243/
 
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Cover your heads! When God finds out we've been bad we'll be smited for a week!
 
Its near the Holy Grail of stem-cell and cloning research. Good to see.
 
I think this is the hidden scientific origin of the biblical prohibition of sodomy. I think that pigs are scavengers, and have high resistance to infections that would devastate us. Pigs with human DNA will strengthen predatory viruses in such a way, that we will be very sorry. You would think that these creatures would be in deep labs far from possibility of cross contamination, but no, the organs, or parts thereof are transplanted into humans. Nothing is ever as safe as it is made out to be, if money is involved. I think that millions of years were involved in the evolutionary processes of our DNA, and we are already trashing it enough, just with the way we handle industrial waste. This kind of activity is another form of pollution, only it is a route to enhance our predators in the environment, and our permission was not asked. The next swine flu that evolves, might do so in genetically altered pigs, or even in the humans that received their organ parts. It won't accidentally cross over to us, it will by design, be of us.

I think that there are plenty of humans on this planet, and I don't think we should try to better nature's performance, in the arena of our fitness for survival. We need to live better, on a global scale, and let the money go to hungry young humans, who need food, shelter and education.
 
The danger of humans getting pig diseases is definitely something to think about. But what about the ethical issue of manipulating the genes of animals? Would you like to be an experiment in trans-species genetics research?
 
Dissident Dan said:
But what about the ethical issue of manipulating the genes of animals?
For people who don't see animals as sentient, protected beings, there are no ethical issues here regarding the animals. If you could make a talking pig, that would be a different issue, but I don't think that's the direction the research is going: one major goal would be to grow a pig with human organs that can be harvested for transplant.
Would you like to be an experiment in trans-species genetics research?
If I had pancreatic cancer, I'd absolutely donate my DNA to the cause.
 
russ_watters said:
If I had pancreatic cancer, I'd absolutely donate my DNA to the cause.

Nice misrepresentation of the question. I wasking asking if you would like to be the one born with trans-species DNA.

...

What does talking have to do with being sentient?
 
QUOTE=russ_watters]…I'd absolutely donate my DNA to the cause.[/QUOTE]


Oh my god! Russ-Watters genetic traits running amok in society and in competition with mine dispersed the old-fashioned way. I desperately need 15,000 consenting females. Please respond ASAP. :biggrin:

...
 
Dissident Dan said:
...I wasking asking if you would like to be the one born with trans-species DNA..

I believe we already share suidae DNA with our swine cousins, a little more or less, no big oink.:approve:

...
 
  • #10
Dissident Dan said:
Nice misrepresentation of the question. I wasking asking if you would like to be the one born with trans-species DNA.
Actually, I think you misrepresented the issue. I seriously doubt it will be animal dna in humans - just human dna in animals. That said, we do share upwards of 80% of our dna anyway, so I don't think that would be a big deal (just unnecessary - curing genetic diseases means replacing flawed human genes with good human genes).
GENIERE said:
Oh my god! Russ-Watters genetic traits running amok in society and in competition with mine dispersed the old-fashioned way. I desperately need 15,000 consenting females. Please respond ASAP.
Jeez, that's not what I meant! The holy grail is when pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, you give a little DNA and geneticists build you a new pancreas inside a pig.
 
  • #11
russ_watters said:
...Jeez, that's not what I meant! The holy grail is when pancreatic cancer is diagnosed, you give a little DNA and geneticists build you a new pancreas inside a pig.

Just a feeble attempt at humor. At my age I may have to become well acquainted with porky in the near future. :cry:
 

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