Creation of 'Genetically Modified' Monkey Heralds Health Revolution

Creation of 'Genetically Modified' Monkey Heralds Health Revolution

www.independent.co.uk

Researchers have developed a technique to create genetically modified monkeys that suffer from human illnesses.

Experimenting on these monkeys, they believe, will advance our understanding and treatment of incurable conditions such as Parkinson's disease and multiple sclerosis. However, the scientific breakthrough has caused consternation among groups opposed to animal experiments because the development will almost certainly lead to a sudden increase in the number of primates used in medical research at a time when there are calls for fewer monkeys to be used in experiments.

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Related News Links:
www.timesonline.co.uk
www.guardian.co.uk

Related AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Threads:
Glowing Monkeys Make More Glowing Monkeys the Old-Fashioned Way
Top 5 Bizarre Genetically Modified Organisms

[edit on 27-5-2009 by The All Seeing I]

This is bitter sweet news. On the one hand, this shows confirmation that the mapping of the genome has been successful and we are now ready to put this knowledge into practice ... which leads us to the moral dilemma of animal rights:

The creation of the first transgenic mouse in the 1980s led to an dramatic increase in the use of laboratory mice during the 1990s. In 1990, there were less than 50,000 experiments involving transgenic mice in Britain – a mere 1.5 per cent of the total – but by 2007 the number of transgenic mice used in experiments grew to more than 1.1 million, according to Home Office statistics.

So were talking at least a million monkeys confined in cages, poked and prodded... suffering and dying from all of the endless trials we put them through. Though if this is the necessary evil that must be performed for us to cure the incurable of hundreds of millions of people... doesn't the end justify the means?

www.independent.co.uk
(visit the link for the full news article)

[edit on 27-5-2009 by The All Seeing I]

Now if you want to talk scifi becomes reality ... wrap your head around this:

The scientists managed to inject the jellyfish gene into 80 marmoset IVF embryos which were transferred into 50 surrogate mothers. Seven animals became pregnant and four of them gave birth to five live babies.

All five offspring were transgenic animals carrying the jellyfish gene, which caused the production of a green fluorescent protein in the skin of the monkeys which made their hands glow under ultraviolet light.

Most importantly, the scientists demonstrated that the jellyfish gene had become incorporated into the reproductive cells of two of the five marmosets – the sperm of a male and the eggs of a female – both of which subsequently produced a second generation of marmosets carrying the transgenic gene.

It is this breakthrough that could now lead to the establishment of breeding colonies of transgenic monkeys that are each specifically engineered with genes that simulate the symptoms of human disorders to allow them to be used as experimental models, just as transgenic mice have been used in their millions over the past 20 years.

reply to post by The All Seeing I


S&F - have to respond as it seems nobody else is. Probably because they are gathering their collective jaws off of the ground. I don't understand how this is a "good" thing.

As an aside, I would certainly hope that if there are superior beings to us among us that they do not view us as we do the monkey, mouse, whatever, etc...

Thanks for the info!

I recently read the book Next by Michael Crighton. It was a little bit confusing because I was reading it in bits and pieces at a time, so the many plot lines and characters lost a little continuity, but I was still able to come away with some idea as to what he wrote. The book focuses on transgenics, genetic therapy and manipulation, and how several examples of these scientific advancements play out in his fictional characters' lives.

I have to say that the whole subject of transgenics and genetic manipulation scares me. To think that the genetic material from two or more distinct species can be combined to create a completely new species is hard to swallow. While I do understand that there are great potential benefits, such as the ones stated in your linked article, something just doesn't sit right in me. The risk of having one of the new creations somehow make it out into the wild and begin mating and spreading it's engineered DNA seems so dangerous.

After reading the book I hopped online for a few minutes, with the intent of digging deeper soon, to see what I could find. I wound up looking at pictures of glowing pigs and mice with human ears growing from their torsos! For all we know there are many such products of manipulation already spreading and breeding with the natural wildlife. How long will it be before the majority of fauna and flora of the planet are somehow altered, on a genetic level, by humans?

reply to post by John_Q_Llama


Ahh, yes Michael. His death was untimely but not too unusual, given his age. He wrote about this stuff extensively:

Michael Chrichton

Originally posted by John_Q_Llama
I have to say that the whole subject of transgenics and genetic manipulation scares me. To think that the genetic material from two or more distinct species can be combined to create a completely new species is hard to swallow. While I do understand that there are great potential benefits, such as the ones stated in your linked article, something just doesn't sit right in me. The risk of having one of the new creations somehow make it out into the wild and begin mating and spreading it's engineered DNA seems so dangerous.

I understand the concern, but when i step back and review the big picture in terms of what we have learned and gained as a whole the future looks bright for these innovations.

When contemplating the potential hazards of a genetically modified species getting out into the wild and running a muck, i am reminded of all the cases where we had introduced a foreign species to a new environment to address an ecological imbalance or vacancy, which as a result eventually backfired, making the situation a living nightmare... something out of a horror flick.

Carp introduced to a man made lake in the desert.
(Trailer to documentary Plagues and Pleasures on the Salton Sea)

Google Video Link

The Hawiian cane toad introduced to Australia.
(1 of 5 parts of the documentary Cane Toads: An Unnatural History)


The Nile's perch introduced to Lake Victoria.
(Complete footage of documentary Darwin's Nightmare)

Google Video Link