Posted on 08/06/2019 10:51:31 AM PDT by bitt
Scientists may have taken a big—and controversial—leap by mixing human cells into monkey embryos.
who operates a lab at the Salk Institute in California, has been working working with monkey researchers in China to perform the disturbing research.
Their objective is to create “human-animal chimeras,” in this case monkey embryos to which human cells are added.
Why, why? The idea behind the research is to fashion animals that possess organs, like a kidney or liver, made up entirely of human cells. Such animals could be used as sources of organs for transplantation.
Making chimeras: The technique for making chimeras involves injecting human embryonic stem cells into a days-old embryo of another species. The hope is that the human cells will grow along with the embryo, adding to it.
Izpisúa Belmonte tried making human-animal chimeras previously by adding human cells to pig embryos, but the human cells didn’t take hold effectively.
Because monkeys are genetically closer to humans, it’s possible that such experiments could now succeed. To give the human cells a better chance of taking hold, scientists also use gene-editing technology to disable the formation of certain types of cells in the animal embryos.
Controversial? Extremely. In the US, the National Institutes of Health says federal funds can never be used to create mixed human-monkey embryos. However, there is no such rule in China, which is probably why the research is occurring there.
So far, no part-human part-monkey has been born. Instead, the mixed embryos are only being allowed to develop for a week or two in the lab, at which time they can be studied. That is according to Estrella Núñez, a biologist and administrator at the Catholic University of Murcia, in Spain, who told El País her university is helping to fund the research.
(Excerpt) Read more at technologyreview.com ...
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They’ll be hard to hit for the average shooter.
One of my Dad’s WWII friends had a monkey skull on a shelf in his garage - a tag wired to it said “jap general”.
What could possibly go wrong.
I’ve eaten my last chilled monkey brains.
Will they all register to vote Democrat?
Let’s ask Dr. Zaius what he thinks.
How would you like to be that monkey? I can hear mutant Ripley saying “please kill me.”
This is how the Statue of Liberty gets blown up
What a great idea.
You know, if this world is ever wiped out, it won’t be by politicians in suits or Soldiers in uniforms.
It will be wiped out by somebody in a lab coat going, “I wonder what will happen if I do this?”
Fast forward a few years. A wacko animal rights group pushes for “rights” for a creature with some human cells.
2 years afterwards, they are asking for “rights” for animals without human cells.
... and running them for President on the democrat ticket.
I guess that Taylor was right.
Not impressed.
All over the Muslim world they have been trying to make human -goat hybrids for centuries
“I guess that Taylor was right.”
Well played.
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