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Chimera go ahead

Matteo Martini

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CHIMERA GO AHEAD
15:19:45 05/09/2007

Public okays human-animal hybrid embryos

The public gave the thumbs up to creating human-animal hybrid embryos – chimeras – once research objectives and methods were made clear, says the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA).

Initial investigations of public opinion showed resistance to the idea of combining human and animal DNA. Ethical concerns with this type of research were the main reason for the public’s initial apprehension. But once they realised the research could lead to therapies for conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, opinion changed.

http://www.focusmag.co.uk/newsread.asp?ID=33782

Well, I have usually been a supporter of embryo` s research, but, this news leaves me quite unconfortable..
 
Putting aside the ethical considerations for a moment, I wonder if it would be possible in theory to create a centaur or a mermaid?
 
Puppycow said:
Putting aside the ethical considerations for a moment, I wonder if it would be possible in theory to create a centaur or a mermaid?
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For the very little I know, I suspect those " hybrids " will not be able to reach the status of living organisms, reaching a spontaneous abortion phase.
 
Matteo Martini said:
For the very little I know, I suspect those " hybrids " will not be able to reach the status of living organisms, reaching a spontaneous abortion phase.
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With current technology, it would be impossible, but I imagine that one day it may become technically possible to create any sort of lifeform conceivable. I mean, what can't DNA do, theoretically? They would have to figure out all the complex chemical interactions of course, but it seems like a problem that is solvable in principle, unlike for example faster than light travel (of large objects) which is theoretically impossible in principle.
 
Puppycow said:
With current technology, it would be impossible, but I imagine that one day it may become technically possible to create any sort of lifeform conceivable. I mean, what can't DNA do, theoretically? They would have to figure out all the complex chemical interactions of course, but it seems like a problem that is solvable in principle, unlike for example faster than light travel (of large objects) which is theoretically impossible in principle.
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Maybe.
Honestly, I do not know enough about this
 
From what I've heard about this in the past, what they are proposing is a solution to a shortage of human embryos. They take human stem cells - which are relatively abundant - and implant them in cow eggs from which all the cow nucleus has been removed. Effectively you're left with something that will hopefully divide and produce more human stem cells. They are not talking of splicing cow DNA and human DNA in order to produce minotaurs, or any other sort of viable animal. Hopefully that is less worrying to you!
 
richardm said:
From what I've heard about this in the past, what they are proposing is a solution to a shortage of human embryos. They take human stem cells - which are relatively abundant - and implant them in cow eggs from which all the cow nucleus has been removed. Effectively you're left with something that will hopefully divide and produce more human stem cells. They are not talking of splicing cow DNA and human DNA in order to produce minotaurs, or any other sort of viable animal. Hopefully that is less worrying to you!
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I was kinda hoping for the Mermaids myslef :(
 
Puppycow said:
Putting aside the ethical considerations for a moment, I wonder if it would be possible in theory to create a centaur or a mermaid?
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In theory anything's possible, but it would be super-duper difficult, since genetics and embryology doesn't really work that way. It might even be easier to just figure out some way to graft a human onto a horse/dolphin after the fact or to genetically engineer humans in a more subtle way. (Disclaimer: I am not a biologist nor do I even have any college level education on the subject.)
 
Mmmmm, a steak that cooks and serves itself!

But seriously, I for one welcome our new minotaur masters, and I want to point out to them that I could be very useful in procuring youths and maidens for them!
 
You can all stop dreaming of mermaids that aint gonna happen.This is good news for so many people waiting on medical cures.Lots more research can be done for all different types of illness.
I think people nowadays know that they are not going to build a Frankenstein or anything like that.
 
[pedant]Frankenstein was the scientist not the monster.[/pedant]
 
petra10 said:
You can all stop dreaming of mermaids that aint gonna happen.This is good news for so many people waiting on medical cures.Lots more research can be done for all different types of illness.
I think people nowadays know that they are not going to build a Frankenstein or anything like that.
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Just wondering where all this progress is heading to.
 
petra10 said:
You can all stop dreaming of mermaids that aint gonna happen. I think people nowadays know that they are not going to build a Frankenstein or anything like that.
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Someone in the 19th century would probably say you were crazy if you told them that we would send people to the moon in the 20th century. Even airplanes would have been thought unlikely.
 
If Moore's law continues, eventually there will be enough processing power to figure out how each protein is folded and how they interact, what each gene does and how the various genes work together. Throw in a few other related technologies like artificial wombs and it would become technically possible to create new lifeforms or recreate extinct ones.
 
Puppycow said:
If Moore's law continues, eventually there will be enough processing power to figure out how each protein is folded and how they interact, what each gene does and how the various genes work together. Throw in a few other related technologies like artificial wombs and it would become technically possible to create new lifeforms or recreate extinct ones.
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Yahey! I want a pet dodo like Thursday Next's in Jasper Fforde's novels.
 
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You should read Michael Crichton's book Next. It's all about this and more. It's a good book. I enjoyed it.
 
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