In Search For Cures, Scientists Create Embryos That Are Both Animal And Human

These things are inevitable as things like gene editing gets easier. Geneticist will be like Magicians and they will be able to edit and program DNA to do all sorts of things. The genie is out of the bottle but like with most things there's a good and bad side. If this research saves human lives but we grow some kind of human and animal hybrid is it worth it? These are the questions that will definitely have to be asked. Here's some of the article:

A handful of scientists around the United States are trying to do something that some people find disturbing: make embryos that are part human, part animal.

The researchers hope these embryos, known as chimeras, could eventually help save the lives of people with a wide range of diseases.

One way would be to use chimera embryos to create better animal models to study how human diseases happen and how they progress.

Perhaps the boldest hope is to create farm animals that have human organs that could be transplanted into terminally ill patients.

But some scientists and bioethicists worry the creation of these interspecies embryos crosses the line. "You're getting into unsettling ground that I think is damaging to our sense of humanity," says Stuart Newman, a professor of cell biology and anatomy at the New York Medical College.

"If a male chimeric pig mated with a female chimeric pig, the result could be a human fetus developing in the uterus of that female chimera," Newman says. Another possibility is the animals could give birth to some kind of part-human, part-pig creature.

"One of the concerns that a lot of people have is that there's something sacrosanct about what it means to be human expressed in our DNA," says Jason Robert, a bioethicist at Arizona State University. "And that by inserting that into other animals and giving those other animals potentially some of the capacities of humans that this could be a kind of violation — a kind of, maybe, even a playing God."

www.npr.org...

When these things occur, they could be hard or near impossible to stop as these technologies become easier to access around the world. This just shows the crazy and exciting times that are ahead of us with all of these technologies on the horizon.

a reply to: neoholographic

There is a very simple solution to this diabolical work. We set fire to the buildings with all the test materials and scientists still inside. Afterwards, we demolition the building and look like surprised by-standers when the "authorities" arrive.

Problem solved!

Where's my prize?

P.S. Humans are animals...

I have predicted this would happen.

Project Escaping God

I made my prediction into a short story. Two years ago, I predicted that in 2016 the first experimentations to create human-animal chimeras would begin.

Turns out I was right. Right down to the year it would happen.

The future is gloomy indeed.

a reply to: neoholographic

Not to make you feel worse, expect that it's gone a lot farther than you are being told by NPR.

make embryos that are part human, part animal.

Most human embryos are 100% animal though.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

So murder is ethical but medical research isn't?

a reply to: swanne

The future is gloomy indeed.

Unless it's not.

a reply to: Kali74

What if human/animal chimeras grow and rise in our population, and decide to turn against normal humans? There have been wars for far lesser reasons.

This has all the potential of going south real quick.

a reply to: neoholographic

I can't imagine it will be too much different than animal testing today, which I don't agree with largely... except I'm selfish and want to live. There's too much unknown about this type of research as of yet to form a strong ethical opinion of. I don't think it's going to result in hybrids though... think of GM Salmon.

a reply to: neoholographic

So what happens when ISIS starts playing with chimeras and building hybrid armies out of frightening beasts?

a reply to: swanne

I don't think it will be anything like that. As I said, I don't know enough about it yet but it seems silly to assume we'll be talking about hybrid bathrooms in 10 years.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: swanne

I don't think it will be anything like that. As I said, I don't know enough about it yet but it seems silly to assume we'll be talking about hybrid bathrooms in 10 years.

Alot of things today seemed silly 10 years ago...

originally posted by: FamCore
a reply to: neoholographic

So what happens when ISIS starts playing with chimeras and building hybrid armies out of frightening beasts?

They're not technically apt. This is not easy. Getting any result is tough, getting the ones you want on something like a consistent basis are mind-numbingly tough. Or so I hear.

originally posted by: Kali74
a reply to: swanne

I don't think it will be anything like that. As I said, I don't know enough about it yet but it seems silly to assume we'll be talking about hybrid bathrooms in 10 years.

Ah, but will the gubmint consider animal-human chimerae to be 'self aware' even if they can talk?

Scientific ethics need to move beyond the term "playing God". If human DNA is sacrosanct....why? Not using God as a crutch...that isn't science.

Side note: humans are animals.

Fringe science has always been a double edge sword. The edges are always sharped at the same time, you can't make the sword safer you can only get better at using it.

Just because we CAN do something, doesn't mean we SHOULD.

This is just wrong.

Playing god is going to get us in a whole lot of trouble. More than we already are.

a reply to: Kali74

If you want to play God, expect the Devil to appear. Man is arrogant, stupid and follows evil orders only too well even if the orders are "wrong". I'm sure you've seen the original University experiment where 70% of people were persuaded by an "authority figure" to perform unspeakable acts on another human.

Now, where's the line again? Animal testing, unnecessary pain and suffering, all in the name of.....?

a reply to: swanne

From the [url=http://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2016/05/18/478212837/in-search-for-cures-scientists-create-embryos-that-are-both-animal-and-human]link[/ url] in the OP.

Perhaps the boldest hope is to create farm animals that have human organs that could be transplanted into terminally ill patients.

I think this is as far as it will go, farm animals that grow human organs.

a reply to: LightSpeedDriver

I don't believe in a devil.