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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsFirst human-monkey chimera raises concern among scientists
Researchers reprogrammed human cells before injecting them in the monkey embryo
Efforts to create human-animal chimeras have rebooted an ethical debate after reports emerged that scientists have produced monkey embryos containing human cells.
A chimera is an organism whose cells come from two or more individuals, with recent work looking at combinations from different species. The word comes from a beast from Greek mythology which was said to be part lion, part goat and part snake.
The latest report, published in the Spanish newspaper El País, claims a team of researchers led by Prof Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte from the Salk Institute in the US have produced monkey-human chimeras. The research was conducted in China to avoid legal issues, according to the report.
Chimeras are seen as a potential way to address the lack of organs for transplantation, as well as problems of organ rejection. Scientists believe organs genetically matched to a particular human recipient could one day be grown inside animals. The approach is based on taking cells from an adult human and reprogramming them to become stem cells, which can give rise to any type of cell in the body. They are then introduced into the embryo of another species.
https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/aug/03/first-human-monkey-chimera-raises-concern-among-scientists
blm
(113,010 posts)no_hypocrisy
(46,021 posts)PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,816 posts)I read a science fiction novel in which clones of people would be grown specifically for organs to harvest as needed. I wish I could remember more details, such as the actual plot or title or author, but alas, I cannot.
midnight and lulu
(17 posts)I want to get off!