NO, THE ABOVE IMAGE IS NOT PHOTO-SHOPPED, AND CAN BE FOUND AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI, BIOLOGY DEPARTMENT'S WEBSITE AT http://www.bio.miami.edu/dana/250/250SS16_10.html .
YES, THAT IS A HUMAN EAR, READY FOR TRANSPLANT, INDEED IT IS.
Chimeras
Named for the mythological composite beast, a chimera--broadly defined--can be a composite of two individuals (or even species) at any level
The NIH, under the leadership of professing Christian Dr. Francis Collins, is proposing lifting a ban on taxpayer funding of experiments that splice human stem cells with animal embryos, creating human-animal chimeras.
YES, THAT IS A HUMAN EAR, READY FOR TRANSPLANT, INDEED IT IS.
Chimeras
Named for the mythological composite beast, a chimera--broadly defined--can be a composite of two individuals (or even species) at any level
- organism - embryonic cells from one individual (donor) are
transplanted into the embryo of another individual (recipient),
resulting in a chimeric recipient
- cell - a cell containing chimeric DNA will express traits encoded by both donor species' genes
- nucleic acid - DNA or RNA spliced together from two different individuals
The NIH, under the leadership of professing Christian Dr. Francis Collins, is proposing lifting a ban on taxpayer funding of experiments that splice human stem cells with animal embryos, creating human-animal chimeras.
Proponents, of course, downplay any
ethical concerns related to creating new life forms using human genetic
material--for either the humans or the animals involved. They're
committed to the practical benefits of this kind of research, hoping to
create animal models of human diseases in order to prevent and treat
illnesses.
A more ambitious goal is the
production of sheep, pigs, and cows with human hearts, kidneys, livers,
and pancreases to use in transplants.
Proponents assure us that additional restrictions and ethics panels will prevent hybrid horrors, or chimeras, with too-human brains or with the capacity to breed.
READING IN MANY PLACES, IT CERTAINLY LOOKS TO ME LIKE THIS IS A "DONE DEAL", THAT THE NIH IS VERY ANXIOUS JUST TO GET ON WITH IT, TO START CREATING, TO BEGIN THE BIZARRE.
In spite of that, the NIH is accepting public comments on this proposed "rule change" through September 6.
LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH'S WEBSITE
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/rfi/rfi.cfm?ID=57
FROM THE NIH WEBSITE:
"NIH consideration of certain research proposals involving human-animal chimera models
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public comments on the proposed scope of certain human-animal chimera research that will be considered internally by an NIH steering committee and on a proposal to amend Section IV and Section V of the NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research.
You may provide comment to one or all of the topics in the comment boxes below.
For more information, see NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-16-128 or Federal Register notice
The NIH proposes the scope of research to include research in which:
IV. Research Using hESCs and/or Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells That, Although the Cells May Come from Eligible Sources, is Nevertheless Ineligible for NIH Funding
This section governs research using hESCs and human induced pluripotent stem cells, i.e., human cells that are capable of dividing without differentiating for a prolonged period in culture, and are known to develop into cells and tissues of the three primary germ layers. Although the cells may come from eligible sources, the following uses of these cells are nevertheless ineligible for NIH funding, as follows:
Please direct all inquiries via email to chimera@mail.nih.gov.
FROM THE GUARDIAN, UK:
"Scientists trying to grow human organs inside pigs in an attempt to tackle a shortage of donors have successfully created part-human, part-pig embryos.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis combined human stem cells and pig DNA and allowed the embryos to mature for 28 days, before terminating the experiment and analysing the tissue.
To create the “chimeric” embryos, the scientists used a gene-editing technique known as Crispr to knock out a section of the pig’s DNA necessary for the embryo to develop a pancreas.
Human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells were then injected into the pig embryo. These are cells that have the potential to develop into any tissue type in the resulting foetus.
Although genetically foreign, they are not rejected by the pig embryo because its immune system has not yet developed.
Instead, the human cells would be expected to follow the chemical cues from the pig embryo to develop into different tissues in the foetus. In most cases they are outcompeted by the pig embryo’s own cells but in the case of the pancreas there are no pig cells to compete with. Hence the embryo goes on to develop a pancreas derived from the injected human cells.
“You are basically creating a vacuum, a hole, so that the human cells respond to the right cues, they make a pancreas. The pig cells can’t. But what we don’t know, and this is what they need to look at, is whether the human cells can also contribute substantially to other tissues, and particularly they are worried about the brain,” said Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
It was reported earlier this year that scientists had begun attempts to create the embryos, but there has been opposition from authorities. In September last year, the US National Institutes of Health said it would not back research into “chimeras” until it knew more about the implications.
It cited fears that the presence of human cells could affect the animal’s brain and behaviour, potentially making it more human.
Prof Pablo Ross, the reproductive biologist leading the research, sought to calm those fears, saying there was a “very low potential for a human brain to grow”.
“Our hope is that this pig embryo will develop normally but the pancreas will be made almost exclusively out of human cells and could be compatible with a patient for transplantation,” he said.
The approach is not without potential problems.
“There are other cells types that are going to be present in the pancreas which come from the pig – that would include blood vessels,” said Lovell-Badge. “Those would be a big problem and they would be rejected by a human.”
It is also possible that the surface of the human cells may be modified inside the pig embryo, potentially leading to the organ being rejected by a human.
It is not the first attempt to create chimeras. Among the previous experiments, scientists using different techniques were able to produce a mouse with a rat’s pancreas, and mice with livers almost completely composed of human cells.
“The whole idea of making chimeras, mixing different animal species or human-animal, has been around for decades,” said Lovell-Badge.
But Peter Stevenson, from Compassion in World Farming, told the BBC’s Panorama programme:
“I’m nervous about opening up a new source of animal suffering. Let’s first get many more people to donate organs.
“If there is still a shortage after that, we can consider using pigs, but on the basis that we eat less meat so that there is no overall increase in the number of pigs being used for human purposes.”
Professor George Church, who has led similar research into the possible use of chimeras, told the broadcaster: “It opens up the possibility of not just transplantation from pigs to humans but the whole idea that a pig organ is perfectible.
“Gene editing could ensure the organs are very clean, available on demand and healthy, so they could be superior to human donor organs.”
Is growing human organs in animals a step too far?
That’s currently being debated, after MIT Technology Review revealed that at least three groups in the U.S. are doing just that.
The controversial technique involves the creation of so called “chimeras,” or mixtures between humans and farm animals. Although the work has yet to be published, the information gathered by MIT from the scientists themselves indicates that roughly 20 successful pregnancies were established in either pigs or sheep last year, but all were terminated before reaching full-term.
And at work presented last November at the National Institutes of Health facility in Maryland, scientists revealed just how far their research has progressed.
For instance, one group at the University of Minnesota used human cells in an attempt to treat an eye abnormality in a pig fetus, and showed evidence of success in the two-month-old pig.
Institutions only permitted the research if the developing animals were terminated at an early stage. So at present, the research is being used to optimize techniques and examine feasibility.
WHAT IF THEY DIDN'T TERMINATE THESE EXPERIMENTS EARLY-ON?
WHAT IF THEY DID LET THEM RUN?
HOW CAN WE BE CERTAIN WHAT'S GOING ON IN LABORATORIES AROUND THE WORLD WHEN WE CAN READ SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING, FROM THE U.K.:
"Scientists have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.
The hybrids have been produced secretively over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases.
The revelation comes just a day after a committee of scientists warned of a nightmare ‘Planet of the Apes’ scenario in which work on human-animal creations goes too far.
Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 ‘admixed’ embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act.
This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; ‘cybrids’, in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and ‘chimeras’, in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.
Last night he said: ‘I argued in Parliament against the creation of human- animal hybrids as a matter of principle. None of the scientists who appeared before us could give us any justification in terms of treatment.
‘Ethically it can never be justifiable – it discredits us as a country. It is dabbling in the grotesque.
‘At every stage the justification from scientists has been: if only you allow us to do this, we will find cures for every illness known to mankind. This is emotional blackmail.
William Cheshire, associate professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville, Florida, branch, feels that combining human and animal neurons is problematic.
"This is unexplored biologic territory," he said. "Whatever moral threshold of human neural development we might choose to set as the limit for such an experiment, there would be a considerable risk of exceeding that limit before it could be recognized."
For the Rochester study, researchers implanted newborn mice with nascent human glial cells, which help support and nourish neurons in the brain.
Six months later, the human parts had elbowed out the mouse equivalents, and the animals had enhanced ability to solve a simple maze and learn conditioned cues.
These protocols might run afoul of the anti-hybrid laws, and perhaps they should arouse some questions.
These chimeric mice may not be really human, but they're certainly one step further down the path to Algernon.
It may not be so long before we're faced with some hairy bioethics:
What rights should we assign to mice with human brains?
Is this really a good idea?
Once a human organ is grown inside a pig, that pig is no longer fully a pig.
And without a doubt, that organ will no longer be a fully human organ after it is grown inside the pig.
Those receiving those organs will be allowing human-animal hybrid organs to be implanted into them.
One can only imagine what the consequences of doing such a thing would be.
You would think that there should be strict limits on this kind of a thing.
And in a few areas around the globe, there are some limits.
But most of the time the ethical decisions are left up to the scientists...
Most people would be absolutely shocked to learn some of the things that are currently being done in the name of science.
For example, did you know that rice that contains actual human genes is being grown right now in Kansas?
Unless the rice you buy is certified organic, or comes specifically from a farm that tests its rice crops for genetically modified (GM) traits, you could be eating rice tainted with actual human genes.
The only known GMO with inbred human traits in cultivation today, a GM rice product made by biotechnology company Ventria Bioscience is currently being grown on 3,200 acres in Junction City, Kansas — and possibly elsewhere — and most people have no idea about it.
Not long ago, Chinese scientists embedded genes for human milk proteins into a mouse's genome and have since created herds of humanized-milk-producing goats.
Here are some other ways that humans and animals are being combined...
-Rabbit Eggs with Human Cells
-Pigs with Human Blood
-Sheep with Human Livers
-Cow Eggs with Human Cells
-Cat-Human Hybrid Proteins
And these are just the things that we know about.What would the consequences be if such beings started mating with other animals?
Could we end up creating creatures that are far beyond our capacity to control?
Unfortunately, Pandora's box has already been opened and it is going to be extremely difficult to control the creation of human-animal hybrids.
This technology is racing ahead all over the planet, and at this point even college students can create new lifeforms in their own basements."
I REALLY DO WONDER HOW FAR THE SCIENTISTS WORKING ON THIS HAVE GONE.
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE IT MIGHT BE VERY HARD TO STOP EXPERIMENTS SUCH AS THESE, TO NOT PRESS ON "JUST TO SEE" WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
IT'S SIMPLY HUMAN NATURE TO "PUSH THE ENVELOPE", TO TAKE THINGS 'JUST ONE MORE STEP' FURTHER, AND THEN ANOTHER, AND THEN....?
TIME WILL TELL, BUT I HOPE TIME DOESN'T REVEAL SOMETHING WE CAN'T STOP.... EVEN IF WE WANT TO.
What if animal organs, cells, or DNA could make us faster, stronger, or more adept?
The Department of Defense has dabbled with the notion of dosing humans with bacteria taken from a pig's digestive tract.
This research program, known as "Intestinal Fortitude," could in theory help a solder to digest cellulose or otherwise survive on "non-traditional foodstuffs."
Once animal DNA gets into our breeding pool, how will we ever put the genie back into the bottle?
As the DNA of the human race becomes corrupted, it is easy to imagine a future where there are very few “pure humans” remaining.
__________________________________________________
ADDENDUM:
"SIGNATURE IN THE CELL", A LENGTHY VIDEO
A FASCINATING LOOK AT "NATURAL" HUMAN CHIMERA CAN BE FOUND AT
http://pictorial.jezebel.com/one-person-two-sets-of-dna-the-strange-case-of-the-hu-1689290862
Proponents assure us that additional restrictions and ethics panels will prevent hybrid horrors, or chimeras, with too-human brains or with the capacity to breed.
However, if you think such research crosses a moral Rubicon, you
wouldn't be alone.
Rod Dreher summarized what is happening in an article with the somewhat hyperbolic title, "Christian-Run Agency Embraces Pig-Man." "It's pretty clear," Dreher wrote, "that this is just a prelude to something that's a fait accompli. Besides, who is going to stand in the way of Science over a trivial matter like basic human dignity?"
Rod Dreher summarized what is happening in an article with the somewhat hyperbolic title, "Christian-Run Agency Embraces Pig-Man." "It's pretty clear," Dreher wrote, "that this is just a prelude to something that's a fait accompli. Besides, who is going to stand in the way of Science over a trivial matter like basic human dignity?"
This ends-justify-the-means kind of
commodification of human beings is nothing new.
Chuck Colson warned way back in 2007, "the system is being rigged to promote more such experimentation, not less. Compared to promises of 'miracle cures,' national prestige, and, of course, big money, human dignity counts for very little."
Chuck Colson warned way back in 2007, "the system is being rigged to promote more such experimentation, not less. Compared to promises of 'miracle cures,' national prestige, and, of course, big money, human dignity counts for very little."
Of course, promises of such cures
may sound like a service to the cause of human dignity, but the
"scientific progress at any cost" sort of vision drives our current
forays in medicine. It's what might be called the scientific illusion,
the idea that because we can, we should. That all things, human nature
included, are proper subjects of scientific mastery, the ultimate source
of all of our knowledge.
Before Chuck, C. S. Lewis warned of such folly in his masterful
book "The Abolition of Man."
"If man chooses to treat himself as raw material," Lewis wrote, "raw material he will be, not raw material to be manipulated, as he fondly imagined, by himself, but by mere appetite, that is, mere Nature, in the person of his de-humanized Conditioners."
Lewis offered a prophetic warning, "If any one age," he wrote, "really attains, by eugenics and scientific education, the power to make its descendants what it pleases, all men who live after are the patients of that power," slaves to the "dead hand of the great planners and conditioners."
"If man chooses to treat himself as raw material," Lewis wrote, "raw material he will be, not raw material to be manipulated, as he fondly imagined, by himself, but by mere appetite, that is, mere Nature, in the person of his de-humanized Conditioners."
Lewis offered a prophetic warning, "If any one age," he wrote, "really attains, by eugenics and scientific education, the power to make its descendants what it pleases, all men who live after are the patients of that power," slaves to the "dead hand of the great planners and conditioners."
In
other words, the conquering of human nature with our technology, in
reality, will end up being the conquering of all of us by some of us.
READING IN MANY PLACES, IT CERTAINLY LOOKS TO ME LIKE THIS IS A "DONE DEAL", THAT THE NIH IS VERY ANXIOUS JUST TO GET ON WITH IT, TO START CREATING, TO BEGIN THE BIZARRE.
In spite of that, the NIH is accepting public comments on this proposed "rule change" through September 6.
LEAVE A COMMENT ON THIS AT THE NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH'S WEBSITE
http://grants.nih.gov/grants/rfi/rfi.cfm?ID=57
FROM THE NIH WEBSITE:
"NIH consideration of certain research proposals involving human-animal chimera models
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is seeking public comments on the proposed scope of certain human-animal chimera research that will be considered internally by an NIH steering committee and on a proposal to amend Section IV and Section V of the NIH Guidelines for Human Stem Cell Research.
You may provide comment to one or all of the topics in the comment boxes below.
For more information, see NIH Guide Notice NOT-OD-16-128 or Federal Register notice
The NIH proposes the scope of research to include research in which:
- human pluripotent cells are introduced into non-human vertebrate embryos, up through the end of the gastrulation stage, or
- human cells are introduced into post-gastrulation non-human mammals (excluding rodents), such that there could be either a substantial contribution or a substantial functional modification to the animal brain by the human cells.
IV. Research Using hESCs and/or Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells That, Although the Cells May Come from Eligible Sources, is Nevertheless Ineligible for NIH Funding
This section governs research using hESCs and human induced pluripotent stem cells, i.e., human cells that are capable of dividing without differentiating for a prolonged period in culture, and are known to develop into cells and tissues of the three primary germ layers. Although the cells may come from eligible sources, the following uses of these cells are nevertheless ineligible for NIH funding, as follows:
- Research in which hESCs (even if derived from embryos donated in accordance with these Guidelines) or human induced pluripotent stem cells are introduced into non-human primate blastocysts.
- Research involving the breeding of animals
where the introduction of hESCs (even if derived from embryos donated in
accordance with these Guidelines) or human induced pluripotent stem
cells may contribute to the germ line.
Please direct all inquiries via email to chimera@mail.nih.gov.
FROM THE GUARDIAN, UK:
"Scientists trying to grow human organs inside pigs in an attempt to tackle a shortage of donors have successfully created part-human, part-pig embryos.
Researchers at the University of California, Davis combined human stem cells and pig DNA and allowed the embryos to mature for 28 days, before terminating the experiment and analysing the tissue.
To create the “chimeric” embryos, the scientists used a gene-editing technique known as Crispr to knock out a section of the pig’s DNA necessary for the embryo to develop a pancreas.
Human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells were then injected into the pig embryo. These are cells that have the potential to develop into any tissue type in the resulting foetus.
Although genetically foreign, they are not rejected by the pig embryo because its immune system has not yet developed.
Instead, the human cells would be expected to follow the chemical cues from the pig embryo to develop into different tissues in the foetus. In most cases they are outcompeted by the pig embryo’s own cells but in the case of the pancreas there are no pig cells to compete with. Hence the embryo goes on to develop a pancreas derived from the injected human cells.
“You are basically creating a vacuum, a hole, so that the human cells respond to the right cues, they make a pancreas. The pig cells can’t. But what we don’t know, and this is what they need to look at, is whether the human cells can also contribute substantially to other tissues, and particularly they are worried about the brain,” said Robin Lovell-Badge, a geneticist at the Francis Crick Institute in London.
It was reported earlier this year that scientists had begun attempts to create the embryos, but there has been opposition from authorities. In September last year, the US National Institutes of Health said it would not back research into “chimeras” until it knew more about the implications.
It cited fears that the presence of human cells could affect the animal’s brain and behaviour, potentially making it more human.
Prof Pablo Ross, the reproductive biologist leading the research, sought to calm those fears, saying there was a “very low potential for a human brain to grow”.
“Our hope is that this pig embryo will develop normally but the pancreas will be made almost exclusively out of human cells and could be compatible with a patient for transplantation,” he said.
The approach is not without potential problems.
“There are other cells types that are going to be present in the pancreas which come from the pig – that would include blood vessels,” said Lovell-Badge. “Those would be a big problem and they would be rejected by a human.”
It is also possible that the surface of the human cells may be modified inside the pig embryo, potentially leading to the organ being rejected by a human.
It is not the first attempt to create chimeras. Among the previous experiments, scientists using different techniques were able to produce a mouse with a rat’s pancreas, and mice with livers almost completely composed of human cells.
“The whole idea of making chimeras, mixing different animal species or human-animal, has been around for decades,” said Lovell-Badge.
But Peter Stevenson, from Compassion in World Farming, told the BBC’s Panorama programme:
“I’m nervous about opening up a new source of animal suffering. Let’s first get many more people to donate organs.
“If there is still a shortage after that, we can consider using pigs, but on the basis that we eat less meat so that there is no overall increase in the number of pigs being used for human purposes.”
Professor George Church, who has led similar research into the possible use of chimeras, told the broadcaster: “It opens up the possibility of not just transplantation from pigs to humans but the whole idea that a pig organ is perfectible.
“Gene editing could ensure the organs are very clean, available on demand and healthy, so they could be superior to human donor organs.”
Is growing human organs in animals a step too far?
That’s currently being debated, after MIT Technology Review revealed that at least three groups in the U.S. are doing just that.
The controversial technique involves the creation of so called “chimeras,” or mixtures between humans and farm animals. Although the work has yet to be published, the information gathered by MIT from the scientists themselves indicates that roughly 20 successful pregnancies were established in either pigs or sheep last year, but all were terminated before reaching full-term.
And at work presented last November at the National Institutes of Health facility in Maryland, scientists revealed just how far their research has progressed.
For instance, one group at the University of Minnesota used human cells in an attempt to treat an eye abnormality in a pig fetus, and showed evidence of success in the two-month-old pig.
Institutions only permitted the research if the developing animals were terminated at an early stage. So at present, the research is being used to optimize techniques and examine feasibility.
WHAT IF THEY DIDN'T TERMINATE THESE EXPERIMENTS EARLY-ON?
WHAT IF THEY DID LET THEM RUN?
HOW CAN WE BE CERTAIN WHAT'S GOING ON IN LABORATORIES AROUND THE WORLD WHEN WE CAN READ SUCH AS THE FOLLOWING, FROM THE U.K.:
"Scientists have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.
The hybrids have been produced secretively over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases.
The revelation comes just a day after a committee of scientists warned of a nightmare ‘Planet of the Apes’ scenario in which work on human-animal creations goes too far.
Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 ‘admixed’ embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act.
This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; ‘cybrids’, in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and ‘chimeras’, in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.
Last night he said: ‘I argued in Parliament against the creation of human- animal hybrids as a matter of principle. None of the scientists who appeared before us could give us any justification in terms of treatment.
‘Ethically it can never be justifiable – it discredits us as a country. It is dabbling in the grotesque.
‘At every stage the justification from scientists has been: if only you allow us to do this, we will find cures for every illness known to mankind. This is emotional blackmail.
William Cheshire, associate professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic's Jacksonville, Florida, branch, feels that combining human and animal neurons is problematic.
"This is unexplored biologic territory," he said. "Whatever moral threshold of human neural development we might choose to set as the limit for such an experiment, there would be a considerable risk of exceeding that limit before it could be recognized."
For the Rochester study, researchers implanted newborn mice with nascent human glial cells, which help support and nourish neurons in the brain.
Six months later, the human parts had elbowed out the mouse equivalents, and the animals had enhanced ability to solve a simple maze and learn conditioned cues.
These protocols might run afoul of the anti-hybrid laws, and perhaps they should arouse some questions.
These chimeric mice may not be really human, but they're certainly one step further down the path to Algernon.
It may not be so long before we're faced with some hairy bioethics:
What rights should we assign to mice with human brains?
Is this really a good idea?
Once a human organ is grown inside a pig, that pig is no longer fully a pig.
And without a doubt, that organ will no longer be a fully human organ after it is grown inside the pig.
Those receiving those organs will be allowing human-animal hybrid organs to be implanted into them.
One can only imagine what the consequences of doing such a thing would be.
You would think that there should be strict limits on this kind of a thing.
And in a few areas around the globe, there are some limits.
But most of the time the ethical decisions are left up to the scientists...
Most people would be absolutely shocked to learn some of the things that are currently being done in the name of science.
For example, did you know that rice that contains actual human genes is being grown right now in Kansas?
Unless the rice you buy is certified organic, or comes specifically from a farm that tests its rice crops for genetically modified (GM) traits, you could be eating rice tainted with actual human genes.
The only known GMO with inbred human traits in cultivation today, a GM rice product made by biotechnology company Ventria Bioscience is currently being grown on 3,200 acres in Junction City, Kansas — and possibly elsewhere — and most people have no idea about it.
Not long ago, Chinese scientists embedded genes for human milk proteins into a mouse's genome and have since created herds of humanized-milk-producing goats.
Here are some other ways that humans and animals are being combined...
-Rabbit Eggs with Human Cells
-Pigs with Human Blood
-Sheep with Human Livers
-Cow Eggs with Human Cells
-Cat-Human Hybrid Proteins
And these are just the things that we know about.What would the consequences be if such beings started mating with other animals?
Could we end up creating creatures that are far beyond our capacity to control?
Unfortunately, Pandora's box has already been opened and it is going to be extremely difficult to control the creation of human-animal hybrids.
This technology is racing ahead all over the planet, and at this point even college students can create new lifeforms in their own basements."
I REALLY DO WONDER HOW FAR THE SCIENTISTS WORKING ON THIS HAVE GONE.
IT LOOKS TO ME LIKE IT MIGHT BE VERY HARD TO STOP EXPERIMENTS SUCH AS THESE, TO NOT PRESS ON "JUST TO SEE" WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.
IT'S SIMPLY HUMAN NATURE TO "PUSH THE ENVELOPE", TO TAKE THINGS 'JUST ONE MORE STEP' FURTHER, AND THEN ANOTHER, AND THEN....?
TIME WILL TELL, BUT I HOPE TIME DOESN'T REVEAL SOMETHING WE CAN'T STOP.... EVEN IF WE WANT TO.
What if animal organs, cells, or DNA could make us faster, stronger, or more adept?
The Department of Defense has dabbled with the notion of dosing humans with bacteria taken from a pig's digestive tract.
This research program, known as "Intestinal Fortitude," could in theory help a solder to digest cellulose or otherwise survive on "non-traditional foodstuffs."
Scientists have created genetically-engineered mice with artificial human chromosomes in every cell of their bodies, as part of a series of studies showing that it may be possible to treat genetic diseases with a radically new form of gene therapy.
In one of the unpublished studies, researchers made a human artificial chromosome in the laboratory from chemical building blocks rather than chipping away at an existing human chromosome, indicating the increasingly powerful technology behind the new field of synthetic biology.
Once animal DNA gets into our breeding pool, how will we ever put the genie back into the bottle?
As the DNA of the human race becomes corrupted, it is easy to imagine a future where there are very few “pure humans” remaining.
__________________________________________________
ADDENDUM:
"SIGNATURE IN THE CELL", A LENGTHY VIDEO
A FASCINATING LOOK AT "NATURAL" HUMAN CHIMERA CAN BE FOUND AT
http://pictorial.jezebel.com/one-person-two-sets-of-dna-the-strange-case-of-the-hu-1689290862
No comments:
Post a Comment