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Human-Mouse Hybrids?
scientistguy writes "There is a remarkable story by Nicholas Wade in the early
morning edition of the New York Times about a discussion to create human-mouse
hybrid organisms. One of these techniques involves the introduction of genetically altered mouse embryonic stem (ES) cells (e.g. with
genes 'knocked-out' or replaced) into a developing mouse blactocyst to create progeny hybrid organisms. Typically, these progeny organisms are then bred to unaltered mice to see
if the genetic alteration has gone germline or is heritable. If heritable, mice can be bred and
animals which are homozygous for the altered gene can be phenotypically examined as long as the manipulation is not homozygous lethal or cause
sterility in a single copy state. Unless using
blastocysts from immunologically crippled mice, there would most likely be a recognition of non-self by murine immune cells not educated (which haven't seen during their development) to the human cells that would wipe them out. Nonetheless, it's amazing that it's
being contemplated due to the ethical implications of such an experiment. What if it were viable? What if there were more than just a few
human cells? Could it be sacrificed? ... or even experimented on further if part 'human'? Perhaps these
types of experiments are best relegated to little known, deserted islands far
away from the reaches of civilization (or perhaps regulation) ..."
This kind of research always frightens the snot out of me. Without trying to sound like a holier-than-thou type, I can't help but think that this type of science is dabbling a little beyond the realm of what we should be working on.
On the bright side, I would suspect that such organisms don't live long enough to make a whole lot of difference. Some odd hybrid creature created through such means would be bound to have some hideous problems.
Maybe there is some benefit to this type of research, where we will get better medicines, or a better understanding of how our own body is put together. That said, I disagree with the method.
Flame away.
Be excellent to each other. And... PARTY ON, DUDES!
These kind of moves are actually dangerous. If the civilized world chooses to ban something of some reason (hopefully a good one), one can just go to a poor country and be fully legal.
We recently saw this when an oil tanker collapsed just off the coast of Spain. The tanker was registerd in Bermuda (or somewhere around there). Thus it was sheaper taxwise, less regulated working-environment and safety wise and could therefore go to sea without being sea worthy.
We can also see this in the research of the (somewhat) mad Italian sientist, Dr. Severino Antinori. He claims to creating the first cloned human and that it is going to be born early next year. He refuses to say where the experiment has been made, but it is in a country with weaker legalization than most western contries.
To sum things up. This type of experiments will probably have to go to some little known, desterd island, but I regret that they can.
Build a better mousetrap! Seriously, we shouldn't be dabbling in this stuff until we truly understand what's going on (as much as we can before experimenting). Are the conveniences/insights worth the risks?
I was thinking the same thing, but reading the article I see the submitter incorrectly described what they're doing -- they're making a chimera of human stem cells and mouse blastocysts. If not quite a half-mouse, half-human it's far closer to it than a recombinant organism with a gene or two from a different species.
What I'm listening to now on Pandora...
Ethical problems don't exist... It's a made up thing, a simple case of "I believe this, so I will force it upon you".
That aside, we will have a problem as the line between human and animal blurs... Should we raise all animals to the level of humans wrt the rights they have? Probably not a good idea. I think we need to ignore the preachers, the churches, the "won't somebody think of the children" pretenders pushing for their own power, and set a strict definition of what defines a living, breathing, human being, and what is a clumb of cells related to, or with the potential to someday be a human being... I believe it's right for experiments to be done on month old foetuses, but I don't think it's right to do the same thing on one that could live if born prematurely....
perhaps I'm rambling and incoherent, I was just trying to raise a couple of points.
Send lawyers, guns, and money!
I can't help but think that this type of science is dabbling a little beyond the realm of what we should be working on.
You've just described popular opinion about most branches of science on the verge of breaktrhough, including biology (genetics) and particle physics (splitting the atom), among others. If we stopped science when it was deemed "beyong the realm of what we should be working on", we'd be living in caves.
An instance of "civilized" country has been recently letting the religious right decide what can and what can not be researched. Steem-cell and cloning studies are being banned because some religious texts were interpreted as saying that this sort of thing is "unholy". As it is, people who does not share this view of the Universe will eventually find ways to keep studying these subjects somewhere else. I don't regret it, because after carefull consideration I find the maddest scientist far saner than the saner right-wing fundamentalist.
Also, moving services and "dirty" plants to unregulated countries and the subsequent pressure (mostly economic but sometimes even military) to keep these countries unregulated is caused mainly by the major corporations of "civilized" Western countries, not by mad scientists or WTO eco-freaks. You should ask yourself who is served by a cheaper oil tanker (or a cheaper Nike produce by Vietnamese semi-slaves).
They already are, we just don't speak mouse-ese. What, you were expecting the mouse to pipe up in English and bust out with "I say old bean, could you please not stick that scalpel up my ass?"
"You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
An instance of "civilized" country has been recently letting the religious right decide what can and what can not be researched. Steem-cell and cloning studies are being banned because some religious texts were interpreted as saying that this sort of thing is "unholy".
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