US creates she-male embryos

[Yahweh]

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=3027859

Scientists in the United States have created hybrid human "she-males," mixing male and female cells in the same embryo, outraging fertility experts and anti-abortionists.

...snip...

Gleicher and his colleague used male cells because they were easier to track as they studied the development of the embryos up to six days.

Their work also sparked outrage from abortion opponents who described it as run-away science.

"This is gross manipulation of human life," said Nuala Scarisbrick of British anti-abortion charity Life.

I have no idea what to think of this...

 

[a_unique_person]

It is a constant criticism of science, research for the sake of it with no consideration for the moral implications, just so the scientist can get recognition and brownie points.

In this case, they got the recognition, no doubt of that. What they achieved, however, is something open to debate.

I would say they identified themselves as something akin to the Raelians.

 

[reprise]

It is a constant criticism of science, research for the sake of it with no consideration for the moral implications, just so the scientist can get recognition and brownie points.

In this case, they got the recognition, no doubt of that. What they achieved, however, is something open to debate.

I would say they identified themselves as something akin to the Raelians.

This is an incredibly "tabloid" kind of report, given that the male cells were basically used as marker cells (and I don't think that there are any "moral implications" in using them as markers in an embryo which is clearly destined for destruction).

It would have been "research for the sake of it" had the objective been simply to see whether it could be done, but that was not the case.

Does not every male contain X and Y chromosomes? Isn't every male embryo a "she-male" until differentiation occurs?

 

[Skeptic]

When a scientific discovery is reported as "creating a monster", as this one, you can be almost 100% certain that the reporter, deliveratly or not, left out the all-important context. The context usually shows the real scientific issue is VERY different than the reported one, and not even close to what is implied by the report (e.g., the imminent creation of "she-male" clones by the evil mad scientists.)

Remember "frankenfoods", or "scientists doing experiments with RADIOACTIVE MATERIALS"?