TransformerRobot Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 (edited) Human/animal hybrid embryos are being created in laboratories in the United Kingdom for stem cell research. I've heard that stem cells are likely to cure certain illnesses like Parkinson Disease (I didn't know about it until hearing Michael J. Fox was diagnosed with it), but to get stem cells requires taking them from human embryos. There are scientists in the UK making parahuman embryos, which could help supply enough stem cells medical use, but some still consider it abortion. Now I'm not sure weather I should be for or against the process, so I would like to hear your thoughts on the subject before making up my mind. Edited February 28, 2012 by TransformerRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arete Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 Have any evidence of these human/animal hybrids? Given the challenges in creating one, it's a rather extraordinary claim and at least to my knowledge, restricted to science fiction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransformerRobot Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2017818/Embryos-involving-genes-animals-mixed-humans-produced-secretively-past-years.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnStu Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 The problem I have with stem cell research is that they are trying to make $. They are trying to make $ by exaggerating the issues to create "work" for their jobs. The key to stem cell is prevention. It is like how the best way to cure any disease is to not have those diseases. But diseases/injuries still do occur, so stem cell research still need research I suppose, but not at their suggested scale. I see investment in nutrition and study of digestive organs system far suitable option. As for human/animal hybrid stem cells, I think that's a good route. But the word human/animal is blurry. I think what they mean is human/pig, since pig tissues are duplicated much faster than humans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransformerRobot Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 The problem I have with stem cell research is that they are trying to make $. They are trying to make $ by exaggerating the issues to create "work" for their jobs. The key to stem cell is prevention. It is like how the best way to cure any disease is to not have those diseases. But diseases/injuries still do occur, so stem cell research still need research I suppose, but not at their suggested scale. I see investment in nutrition and study of digestive organs system far suitable option. As for human/animal hybrid stem cells, I think that's a good route. But the word human/animal is blurry. I think what they mean is human/pig, since pig tissues are duplicated much faster than humans. True, but with the state the world economy is in we need to create more jobs, and more medical jobs would be nice. Personally I think there aren't enough doctors in the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted February 28, 2012 Share Posted February 28, 2012 AFAIK the only thing that has been done is to inject human DNA into denucleated eggs of other mammals. After 14 days the cells are then harvested. That being said, I have no idea how anyone would make money for that. Right now (again, AFAIK) stem cell research is still relatively far away from any real clinical application but mostly serves for basic research. It is clear, however, that public debate will focus on the application side. Ethically the advantage is that no human eggs are needed, thus sidestepping the abortion problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransformerRobot Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Don't you mean enucleate? Also, I just thought of another problem: What if one of the embryos was left unattended until it developed into humanoid sentient being? Sure it may not be possible in real life, I'm just thinking from a civil rights perspective. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnStu Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Don't you mean enucleate? Also, I just thought of another problem: What if one of the embryos was left unattended until it developed into humanoid sentient being? Sure it may not be possible in real life, I'm just thinking from a civil rights perspective. I wonder if he can still obtain welfare checks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransformerRobot Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) Well another question is, should they be considered human still? Or would we call them hybrids for the sake of making more sense? And what other animals could the human egg be mixed with? Would it work with non-mammals? Of course I wasn't thinking of insects, I was thinking of reptiles. Then again the only reason I can think of for doing such experiments with reptilian DNA is to see what the result would be. Maybe the result would have the strengths of the reptilian parent; the strength of an alligator, the longevity of a sea turtle, or the flexibility of a boa constrictor? Edited February 29, 2012 by TransformerRobot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CharonY Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 (edited) Don't you mean enucleate? AFAIK enucleation originally referred to surgical procedures (famously for taking out eyeballs). While it can also be used synonymously with denucleation, the latter is a bit more specific. And yes, there are also ethical issues with that, that is why a) DNA from non-embryonic cells are used and b) the cells are not allowed to grow past 14 days. Most of the time regulatory systems do not work any more and it is likely that the development would fail fatally at some point. Edited February 29, 2012 by CharonY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransformerRobot Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 I said enucleate because I typed denucleate into a couple search engines but it didn't come up. Am I a geek for wanting to see a hybrid embryo develop into a full sentient being? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnStu Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 I said enucleate because I typed denucleate into a couple search engines but it didn't come up. Am I a geek for wanting to see a hybrid embryo develop into a full sentient being? Not at all. Many mythical creatures are hybrids! Gryphon is eagle plus lion right. I always wanted to be half lizard half human, so I can live much longer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fuzzwood Posted February 29, 2012 Share Posted February 29, 2012 Don't you mean enucleate? Also, I just thought of another problem: What if one of the embryos was left unattended until it developed into humanoid sentient being? Sure it may not be possible in real life, I'm just thinking from a civil rights perspective. Impossible due to the chromosome incompatibility Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TransformerRobot Posted February 29, 2012 Author Share Posted February 29, 2012 Impossible due to the chromosome incompatibility Well what about a human/feline embryo? Could canines be brought into the mix as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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