Chimeric monkeys created in the US, by fusing cells from up to six different embryos.

[progressoid]

Chimera monkeys born in US

Until now, rodents have been the primary creatures used to make chimeras, a lab animal produced by combining two or more fertilised eggs or early embryos together.

Scientists have long been able to create "knockout" mice with certain genes deleted in order to study a host of ailments and remedies, including obesity, heart disease, anxiety, diabetes and Parkinson's disease.
Attempts to do the same with more complicated primates have failed in the past, but scientists in the western US state of Oregon succeeded by altering the method used to make mice.

...

Fusing primate cells apparently requires more potent, early stage cells from a living embryo, said lead researcher Shoukhrat Mitalipov of the Oregon National Primate Research Centre at Oregon Health and Science University.

The experiment produced three healthy male rhesus monkeys they named Roku, Hex and Chimero, with gene traits from all of the separate embryos used to meld them.

"The cells never fuse, but they stay together and work together to form tissues and organs," said Mitalipov. "The possibilities for science are enormous."

...

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/science-news/8996178/Chimera-monkeys-born-in-US.html

[limpyhobbler]

1. genetic science advances, without much public debate about what is right and what is wrong.

Something about this is making me say "ick, that's not cool, maybe we should slow down".