Human Hybrid Clones

[Largest of Als]

Hybrid embryos that are part-human and part-animal have been created in Britain for the first time.

Scientists from Newcastle University made the embryos using DNA derived from a human stem cell and a cow egg. They survived three days.

Hybrid embryos have proved ethically controversial, with one Catholic leader comparing their creation to Frankenstein's monster.

But scientists say the 'chimeras' could be used in research into new therapies for conditions such as Parkinson's disease.

Setting aside the urge to link to the AN gallery to show some human/cow hybrids..

How to the wonderful people of AN stand on this issue?

I understand the dangers of the technology, but at the same time, without any sort of medical and scientific advancement, we'd still have people dying of what are now easily treatable diseases.

I know it's not as easy as a yes or no question but vote anyway.

[LesMTS]

I don't understand the dangers of the technology, at least not the immediate technology that's the subject of controversy in the news. It's a lot of fuss over nothing, mainly because of the emotive phrase "human-animal hybrids" and people's unwillingness to read past that.
What they've done is remove the genetic material from a cow's egg and replaced it with human genetic material, due to the difficulty of obtaining human eggs for research. By the second or third division, the cow component will be impossibly small (only mitochondrial DNA will remain bovine in origin, all other cellular structures from the first division onwards will be created solely from the human blueprint). It's not like they've fused or somehow interwoven the genome of a cow and the genome of a human.
It's analogous to ripping the guts out of your PC and replacing all the internal hardware with that of a mac. You're not going to get some freaky windows/OSX hybrid popping up on the screen when you turn it on.

[Evapilotone]

I voted Moooo for a laugh, however on a serious note, I'm ok with it. As long as the embryos have a designated shelf life and under no circumstances are they to be allowed to grow (if possible), any benefit to mankind through testing is fine. The hybrids seem to be dying after three days (if what they say is true) anyway, so yeah, as long as I don't see mutants walking around anytime soon, it's all good.

[Jushin Liger]

There's a german folk tale warning of the dangers of such matters, I've put the words of caution below.


Once they killed his monster when it went into a trap
now he's making better ones on a higher step

On a warm summer day the doctor went away
to a place where he could make it real
his assistant's hips were nice
so he cloned her once or twice
now his hips are aching what a deal

Dr. Stein grows funny creatures
let's them run into the night
they become great rock musicians
and their time is right

Sometimes when he's feeling bored
he's calling it a day
he's got his computer and they do it their own way

They mix some DNA, some skin and certain spray
you can watch it on a laser screen
and the fellow's blue and gray
or sometimes pink and green
just check it out halloween

Dr. Stein grows funny creatures
let's them run into the night
they become great politicians
and their time is right

One night he cloned himself
put his brother on a shelf
but when he fell asleep that night
it crept up from behind and thought
"well never mind "
took a syringe and blew out his life

Dr. Stein grows funny creatures
let's hem run into the night
they become
1 - a great possession
2 - a great opression
and their time is right

[slicer]

I agree that as long as the purpose is for research, rather than someone seeing if they could create a living breathing animal-human hybrid. Just think of the results, it's be awful!!!




Seriously though, like Les says, it's due to a difficulty in obtaining human eggs, it's not for creating a new species, and it's for research for our benefit, doesn't seem like such a big thing.

[LesMTS]

If people have ethical problems with embryo research, that's where the focus of the debate should be. Being scared of this research, finding it freaky or being against it because of the terminology "human-animal hybrid" is just misunderstanding the issue.
We've been intermingling human DNA with that of other organisms for years, and that's not even what's happening in this research. I make what are essentially human-bacteria hybrids all the time at work. Granted, we're just talking about having bacteria express a single human gene but it's a hybrid of sorts nonetheless.

[TSR]

i've always susspected you were the source of all evil, Les

i don't have a problem with it, and the way i see it, anyone in the "embryo research is WRONG WRONG WRONG" camp now has very little to be offended by

1 cow egg* + 1 batch human sperm** = cure for disease

*that would have gone to waste
**that would have gotten flushed

[djtoast]

I witnessed the full horrific implications of this research while i was driving on the M6 last week - there was a car swerving about the road pretty dangerously and to be honest i just assumed it was someone drunk or something, but as i passed the car i looked over and it was being driven by a pig-man! Seriously, this hideous, mis-shapen bright pink creature was at the wheel, and I think the erratic driving was because he couldn't hold the wheel properly with his trotters!

I couldn't find my camera quickly eneough and it took the next exit so I can't prove it sadly. But I know what I saw.

[slicer]

Originally Posted by LesMTS

I make what are essentially human-bacteria hybrids all the time at work. Granted, we're just talking about having bacteria express a single human gene but it's a hybrid of sorts nonetheless.

Cool. So what is it you do then man?

[LesMTS]

Originally Posted by TSR

1 cow egg* + 1 batch human sperm** = cure for disease

*that would have gone to waste
**that would have gotten flushed

That's not what they're doing.
They're removing the nuclei from cow's eggs and replacing them with the nuclei from human skin cells.

[TSR]

well if you want to get technical about it...


edit: that does actually make it even better/less "immoral"

[LesMTS]

Originally Posted by slicer

Cool. So what is it you do then man?

I'm a molecular/cell biologist in training. And a fully trained altnation facilitated procrastinator.

[MarkMono]

Anything that discourages people from mass worship of a monotheistic deity can't be a bad thing.

[Largest of Gregs]

fucking catholics!

[djtoast]

Originally Posted by Largest of Gregs

fucking catholics!

is much like fucking protestants; you just get more weans.