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Japan to Allow Human-Nonhuman Mixed Cloning
Sara Chan writes: "Japan has decided to allow combined human-animal embryos to be produced through cloning, which could result in mixed-species creatures. The intended purpose is to permit transplant organs to be produced in specially-bred animals. The original story is in a Japanese newspaper, but you can get an English summary here."
On a more serious note, I think this could be really usefull; like they mention, the prospect of growing pigs with fully compatible organs for humans could be VERY usefull indeed.
We do not live in the 21st century. We live in the 20 second century.
Mix a human with an octopus.
Perverted tenticle fetish!
The surprise isn't how often we make bad choices; the surprise is how seldom they defeat us.
Is this a step forward for mankind, or a step backward?
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I find it fascinating that in America, people freak out when they hear about human cells being cloned. But in Japan, they're discussing mixing animal cells with human cells. I wonder how Americans would react to such a combination? I don't think the Religious Right would handle this issue very well.
There's a lot of irrational emotional issue's ... but whats really amoral about adding a few human genes to make organs better suited for human implantation? Its not like they are getting a huge part of the human genome, or that they will suddenly get the capacity to become self-conscious.
We are talking trivial changes here, sure you can give ridiculous examples of what you COULD do with human-animal mixing and extend the moral issues with that to what is actually being done. The only problem with that line of reasoning is that ITS FUCKING STUPID.
Just because its hard to draw a solid line between what is acceptable and whats not doesnt mean there arent any area's where for all extents and purposes you can make that assesment, if you bother to think clearly for 2 seconds and not be taken in by the religious nuts trying to confuse the issues.
Although many conservative religious leaders and followers will undoubtedly condemn this action, it will prove or disprove the point they have been arguing for centuries: that humans have a soul, and animals do not.
If the experiments are able to produce human-like creatures without coitus and traditional conception, the only reasonable conclusion that can be drawn is that the "soul" does not exist, and that humans are no more sophisticated than the most advanced carbon-based machine we can invent.
If the experiments are not able to produce creatures that demonstrate free will, emotions and feelings, and other characteristically human qualities, the inevitable conclusion will be that a soul does exist in each of us, and the religious will most likely be able to use this as a rationale for banning abortion, stem cell research, and other procedures that involve the sacrifice of young human life.
Although Pat Robertson et al will likely oppose this research, they do so out of the fear that their position will become obsolete. But instead they should see it as a natural step in the quest for truth, and learn to live with the outcome. It can help them just as much as it can hurt them.
~wally
Miracles don't happen. Supernatural events have never been recorded. Period.
If no one had ever told you about God, would you be aware of him? If he/she/it is out there, they don't seem to give a damn about what happens here anyway.
"I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things [end of the world, etc.] have happened." - Jesus, Luke 21:32, c. 2000 YEARS AGO
Miracles don't happen. Supernatural events have never been recorded. If no one had told you about God, would you be aware of him?
Luke 21:32 "I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things [end of the world, etc.] have happened." Jesus, circa 2000 years ago. If any of his original apostles are still left, speak up!
Apocryphal.
HIV is a chimpanzee virus, well established in wild populations, and one which apparently causes them little trouble, Well adaped to its wild hosts, it spreads among them easily while maintaining a balance between surviving in their bodies and not damaging the host which are its natural home; this is why chimpanzees experimentally infected with HIV do not develop AIDS.
The most credible theory for transfer of the virus to humans involves a person hunting chimpanzees for food who had a cut or sore which came in contact with the blood of an infected chimp they killed.
Of course, this does nevertheless support your conclusion.
Here is the English version of the same newspaper article.
From the article:
The hope is that human organs could be grown in other species and later transplanted into humans.
However, some said the decision opens the door to the risk of creating mixed-species organs, or possibly even creatures.
The article is about the publication of guidelines on research into human cloning. While allowing the cloning of aggregate embryos, the Wednesday announcement bars all other embryo cloning, citing insufficient debate about the ramifications of such cloning.
The research hasn't even begun yet. Maybe its possible to grow aggregate embryos, maybe its not. Maybe it will result in mixed-species, maybe not.
Really.
I'm just worried that all this new life-prolonging technology will belong the wealthy alone. As it is now, it is already difficult enough to transcend one's class. What will happen when the wealthy really are smarter than average folk? I worry that children born without the technology won't be able to compete.
Assuming they maintain their stand, does this mean Christians and other moral types will one day live shorter lives and be less intelligent than people without such scruples?
Just a thought.
Too busy staying alive... ~ R.A.
A country has the guts (and yes, I'm not surprised it's Japan), to go about ignoring the stupid religious morals set by the US in regard to cloning animals/humans with the specific end of using them for organ harvesting.
I'm one step closer to being able to have a genetically perfect pancreas transplant, which means I'm a step closer to being able cease these stupid insulin injections 4-8 times a day.
Looks can be deceiving. Or CAN they?
We hold life to be sacred, but we also know the foundation of life consists in a stream of codes not so different from the successive frames of a Super8 video. Why then cannot we cut one code short here, and start another there? Is life so fragile that it can withstand no tampering? Does the sacred brook no improvement?
and why do you insist that the human genetic code is "sacred" or "taboo"? It is a chemical process and nothing more. For that matter we are chemical processes and nothing more. If you deny yourself a useful tool simply because it reminds you uncomfortably of your mortality, you have uselessly and pointlessly crippled yourself.
"Don't let worries kill you, let the church help".
I do expect that such cloning will help in eliminating syndromes such as diabetes. With the ability to observe cloned pancreatic material in a cloned model body (I'll gladly donate DNA if it's needed). I imagine watching things happen will help us understand WHY they happen.
Also, think for a moment about the possibility of splicing Shark DNA with Human DNA. We could not only have a super shark-man like creature, but may also find a way in which to eliminate cancer in future generations.
Looks can be deceiving. Or CAN they?