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UK Approves Human-Pig Embryo Stem-Cell Harvest

Posted by timothy on from the but-I-know-plenty-of-half-pig-humans dept.

An anonymous reader writes "British biologists have received government approval to create the world's first human stem cells from hybrid embryos, part pig, part human. The Warwick Medical School team, led by Justin St. John of the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, was granted the country's third animal-human embryo license from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which goes into effect today (July 1)." The above link requires (free) registration; the Telegraph's coverage does not.

139 comments

  1. As a matter of fact... by RobertB-DC · · Score: 5, Funny

    I *do* taste like bacon! Why do you ask?

    --
    Stressed? Me? Of course not. Stress is what a rubber band feels before it breaks, silly.
    1. Re:As a matter of fact... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Its a quick way to get kids interested in law enforcement!

    2. Re:As a matter of fact... by aproposofwhat · · Score: 1
      Squeal like a pig, boy!

      You sure got a purdy mouth...

      --
      One swallow does not a fellatrix make
  2. But... by snl2587 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why not half man and half bearpig? That's the approval we're looking for!

    1. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Boy, that joke never stops being just as funny as it was when it was actually on South Park.

    2. Re:But... by WCLPeter · · Score: 1

      Why not half man and half bearpig?

      Because the world doesn't need another Ron Jeremy.

      Now a half woman half cat that looks like Jessica Biel in a sexy leotard? Snarf!!

    3. Re:But... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Oh Cheetara, where are you?

    4. Re:But... by Candid88 · · Score: 1

      The only pity is that the joke was part of one of South Park's most boring episodes ever. Maybe that's partly what makes the joke so funny, it's contrast to the rest of the episode.

      Nothing kills a South Park episode like when they start going on about politics.

  3. I can't wait until... by jhfry · · Score: 4, Funny

    I can't wait until my kid takes highschool biology and has to dissect a pig-man embryo.

    --
    Sometimes the best solution is to stop wasting time looking for an easy solution.
  4. Oblig. Doctor Who Reference by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    This is obviously the work of the Daleks.

    1. Re:Oblig. Doctor Who Reference by Iowan41 · · Score: 1

      No, no, no, it is the Slitheen!

  5. Al Gore must be terrified... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Since this is one more step towards the unholy creation of ManBearPig, who will hopefully die by Global Warming before he can kill us all.

    On a more serious note, I'm just glad its not human embryos inside of pig cells they're toying with, it's just weird, not intrinsically immoral: they aren't killing anybody.

  6. god shmod by trybywrench · · Score: 1

    god shmod i want my pig man!

    --
    I came to the datacenter drunk with a fake ID, don't you want to be just like me?
    1. Re:god shmod by Stormwatch · · Score: 3, Funny

      If you believe the feminazis, men are pigs already.

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
  7. Somewhat misleading... by MozeeToby · · Score: 5, Informative

    The summary seems to imply that they are creating embryos which combine genetic material from humans and pigs. The article, on the other hand, says that they are taking 100% human DNA and implanting them into pig egg cells which have had their DNA removed. I think it's safe to to say that there is a huge difference between the two ideas.

    1. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Bandman · · Score: 3, Funny

      Yes. One definitely prevents someone from tasting like bacon.

      --
      Check out my sysadmin blog!
    2. Re:Somewhat misleading... by SBacks · · Score: 3, Insightful

      The summary seems to imply that they are creating embryos which combine genetic material from humans and pigs. The article, on the other hand, says that they are taking 100% human DNA and implanting them into pig egg cells which have had their DNA removed. I think it's safe to to say that there is a huge difference between the two ideas.

      That may be true. But, its much more exciting to talk about manpigs than to talk about the similarities between a pig egg cell and a human egg cell.

    3. Re:Somewhat misleading... by stranger_to_himself · · Score: 4, Informative

      The summary seems to imply that they are creating embryos which combine genetic material from humans and pigs. The article, on the other hand, says that they are taking 100% human DNA and implanting them into pig egg cells which have had their DNA removed. I think it's safe to to say that there is a huge difference between the two ideas.

      They would still have pig mitochondrial DNA, even if the nuclear DNA was all replaced.

    4. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So are these truly embryonic? I wonder if some people are going to start screaming, once they see that word. On the flip side when my wife says I'm a pig and I eat like a pig. I can say "hey, its in the genes, Babe". Pun intended.

    5. Re:Somewhat misleading... by AnalogyShark · · Score: 1

      Also to add: "They would not be used for stem cell treatments of patients because of concerns about disease and because cybrid cells may still contain rabbit DNA in mitochondria, the "batteries" of the cell. The few rabbit genes present may generate proteins that would be attacked by the human immune system, for example." A sublink from Telegraph As this is a research only venture, and these stems cells are not being allowed to survive beyond the first stages of developement or used in humans, hopefully the relgious community won't strike this down like they usually do.

    6. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Richard_at_work · · Score: 2, Informative

      What is being created here is a cytoplasmic hybrid embryo, where the cells nucleus is fully human DNA, but the cells mitochondria is not replaced and that has a DNA signature of its own, meaning that the cells reproduce as human, but the embryos themselves are only considered to be 99.9% human, and 0.1% animal.

    7. Re:Somewhat misleading... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      The article, on the other hand, says that they are taking 100% human DNA and implanting them into pig egg cells which have had their DNA removed.

      And not just the nuclear DNA, but also the mitochondrial DNA is replaced.

      Still, if you could do the same to a plant cell which has a distinctly different cell structure, would you still consider the resulting cells human or not?

      Is a Mac Pro running Windows natively a Macintosh or a PC? What if you replace the firmware with a PC BIOS to make it even more compatible?

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
    8. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Schemat1c · · Score: 3, Informative

      ...but the embryos themselves are only considered to be 99.9% human, and 0.1% animal.

      Aren't humans also animals?

      --

      "Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better." - Unknown
    9. Re:Somewhat misleading... by cac619 · · Score: 2, Funny

      Yes, and don't forget about the residual pig midichlorians that they would still have.

    10. Re:Somewhat misleading... by antifoidulus · · Score: 1

      Meh, we have been doing this in the US for years. Look at all the fat people with tons of kids!

      --
      Monstar L
    11. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Hal_Porter · · Score: 1

      What is being created here is a cytoplasmic hybrid embryo, where the cells nucleus is fully human DNA, but the cells mitochondria is not replaced and that has a DNA signature of its own, meaning that the cells reproduce as human, but the embryos themselves are only considered to be 99.9% human, and 0.1% animal.

      OCP don't count these hybrids as human though. Legally they are swine.

      --
      echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
    12. Re:Somewhat misleading... by TheDreadSlashdotterD · · Score: 2, Funny

      How dare you consider humans in the same class as animals! After all, we humans have created a utopia and achieved world peace, unlike those animals that can't find the decency to use a bathroom.

      --
      I have nothing to say.
    13. Re:Somewhat misleading... by ardle · · Score: 1

      Suppose it'd be more useful to use 99.9% human/0.1% non-human - but that includes non-animal, doesn't it. Maybe "99.9% winner/0.1% loser" or "99.9% survivor/0.1% doomed"? ;-)

    14. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Stormwatch · · Score: 1

      I regard my computer as a Mac, but I doubt Steve Jobs would agree. :P

      --
      Circumcision is child abuse.
    15. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Correct, this is a funny little loophole which allows the cloning of humans without the whole messy calling it cloning part.

    16. Re:Somewhat misleading... by jez9999 · · Score: 2, Funny

      So are lawyers, doesn't stop them getting rights.

      --
      == Jez ==
      Do you miss Firefox? Try Pale Moon.
    17. Re:Somewhat misleading... by MozeeToby · · Score: 3, Informative

      In the hybrid, the mitochondria mostly come from the egg, initially making up around half of the DNA by weight, and the team will do experiments in order to ensure that the trace of human mitochondrial DNA takes over, not least because it is designed to work with human nuclear DNA.

      Apparently they are trying to remove the Pig Mitochondria as well, or atleast make the human mitochondria dominant.

    18. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Ethanol-fueled · · Score: 2, Funny

      ...And isn't it odd that these blasphemous crimes against nature are spearheaded by a man with the saintly name of Justin St. John?

    19. Re:Somewhat misleading... by roman_mir · · Score: 1

      some more so than others.

      --
      You can't handle the truth.
    20. Re:Somewhat misleading... by ross.w · · Score: 1

      Those ones would look a bit like this little piggy.

      --
      If my call is important, why am I talking to a recording?
    21. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Pantero+Blanco · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Aren't humans also animals?


      Yes, they are scientifically classified as animals. In the common meaning of the term, though, they aren't.

      It's like seeing a chart comparing "Mexicans", "Canadians", and "Americans". You know what the latter refers to, despite the fact that all of the three groups live in the North American continent.

      It might be more technically correct to go back to using the term "beast" to refer to non-human animals, but it makes people look at you funny nowadays.

    22. Re:Somewhat misleading... by Pantero+Blanco · · Score: 1

      Meh, we have been doing this in the US for years. Look at all the fat people with tons of kids!


      It would be less distressing if the "tons" were spread across more than two or three kids.

    23. Re:Somewhat misleading... by sporkme · · Score: 1

      My mother is a pig, you insensitive clod!!! Wait...

      --
      FairTax baby!
  8. ManPig? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    We Need Duke Nukem!

  9. Hybrid embryo @home by sakdoctor · · Score: 3, Funny

    I can't wait until this technology becomes available on the mass market.
    I'm going to release all my hybrids under the GPL because I like to give back to the community.

  10. Quick, someone warn Al Gore, we will need his help by krnpimpsta · · Score: 0, Redundant

    This is why I voted for Al Gore. He knew about this all along. Right now it's just half pig, half man; but soon it will be half man, half bear, and half pig. ManBearPig is real.

    --

    New webcomic updated on Sundays: HERE

  11. H.G. Wells saw this coming by andre3001 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Haven't these people read The Island of Dr. Moreau?

    --
    Affordable Health Coverage
  12. Who remembers the Dr. Who episode? by djtim21 · · Score: 1

    With half human half pig people :)

    1. Re:Who remembers the Dr. Who episode? by querist · · Score: 1

      I can't cite any "Old" Dr. Who examples, but...

      Series 1 "Aliens in London" or "World War Three". I don't remember which - but it was the "alien" created by the Slitheen to pilot the ship into Big Ben. Not a hybrid, but more of an anthromorphosed pig.

      Series 3 "Daleks in Manhattan" and "Evolution of the Daleks", the "Pig-slaves", which were genetically modified humans, altered by the Daleks (specifically the Cult of Skaro) for use in the their (failed) plan to take over the Earth.

    2. Re:Who remembers the Dr. Who episode? by BusinessHut · · Score: 1

      I thought the same thing. Are we going to have pig-people among us now? New DNA defects? The possible horror is endless. I have to say I support stem-cell research in general, but this is a bit weird. Is it just a loophole to harvest stem cells from humans?

    3. Re:Who remembers the Dr. Who episode? by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      On ST:TNG, Malcorians are quite porky; they have trotters for hands.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  13. Well, it was inevitable... by dwiget001 · · Score: 1, Funny

    I, for one, welcome our new Pig-Boy Overlords.

  14. Part Man, Part Swine...... by snspdaarf · · Score: 3, Funny

    .... It's Leisure Suit Larry on Ladies Night!

    --
    Why, without your clothes, you're naked, Miss Dudley!
  15. One step closer to the by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    SPIDER MAN!

    oh! wait.. ..spider pig, spider pig ...

  16. This could be bad by jbeaupre · · Score: 2, Funny

    All this experimenting is going to ruin traditional long pork.

    --
    The world is made by those who show up for the job.
  17. Seinfeld by clang_jangle · · Score: 3, Funny

    He's a Pig man, I tell ya Jerry, I saw him!

    --
    Caveat Utilitor
    1. Re:Seinfeld by genner · · Score: 1

      Came here for this reference.
      Was not disappointed.

    2. Re:Seinfeld by onehitwonder · · Score: 1

      He's a Pig man, I tell ya Jerry, I saw him!

      I was hoping someone would find the Seinfeld reference in this news story!

  18. Not so new by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Pfft. This isn't that new.

    I just got pulled over and tasered by a pig-man just this afternoon.

    1. Re:Not so new by pushing-robot · · Score: 2, Funny

      You kept calling him "bro", didn't you?

      --
      How can I believe you when you tell me what I don't want to hear?
  19. No, it's the work of a Piccinini by tepples · · Score: 2, Funny

    "The Young Family" by Patricia Piccinini brings new meaning to the insult "pigdog".

    1. Re:No, it's the work of a Piccinini by kalirion · · Score: 1

      Ack, my eyes!!!!! Seriously, some warning should accompany that......

    2. Re:No, it's the work of a Piccinini by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That's a beautiful sculpture - thanks for the link.

  20. Q. Are we not men? by Mesa+MIke · · Score: 2, Insightful

    A. We are Devo!

  21. Prior art by Joebert · · Score: 1

    I can foresee some problems with patents and prior art with this, rednecks have been creating hybrid embryos for decades.

    --
    Wanna fight ? Bend over, stick your head up your ass, and fight for air.
    1. Re:Prior art by aproposofwhat · · Score: 1

      Cue 'Duelling Banjos', and the immortal 'Squeal like a pig, boy'

      --
      One swallow does not a fellatrix make
  22. Re:H.G. Wells saw this coming by tepples · · Score: 1

    Haven't these people read The Island of Dr. Moreau?

    Worse yet, haven't these people played Animal Crossing?

  23. But... by acecamaro666 · · Score: 1, Funny

    will it be Kosher?

  24. It is a very good idea. by 140Mandak262Jamuna · · Score: 1

    It is very well known that human half bear hybrids have excellent flying skills. They make excellent co-pilots for spaceships smuggling contraband evading Imperial battle cruisers. I am glad the Brits are taking the lead and having a Flying Cadet Corps ready and being prepared for the day when we actually will have starships.

    --
    sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
  25. Hyperpigs by orkysoft · · Score: 1

    So we're going to get the bad-ass hyperpigs from Revelation Space now, huh?

    --

    I suffer from attention surplus disorder.
  26. that's historically accurate by circletimessquare · · Score: 4, Informative

    historically cannibalistic societies in the pacific did in fact call human flesh "long-pig"

    we really **do** taste like pig

    "the Marquesas Islands of Polynesia, where human flesh was called long-pig (Alanna King, ed., Robert Louis Stevenson in the South Seas, London: Luzac Paragon House, 1987: 45-50)."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cannibalism#Middle_Ages

    --
    intellectual property law is philosophically incoherent. it is your moral duty to ignore it or sabotage it
    1. Re:that's historically accurate by dreamchaser · · Score: 4, Funny

      That's because our diets are very similar (omniverous) as well as many aspects of our biochemistry.

      Personally after civilization falls I'll be eating the vegans first though. Grain and veggie fed free range vegan...mmmm.

    2. Re:that's historically accurate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Grain and veggie fed free range vegan

      There's so little eatin' on 'em though, they's always so scrawny, dang it. Hafta crack their bones and sup out the marrow. Wait, hey, that'd be the best part anyways.

    3. Re:that's historically accurate by dreamchaser · · Score: 1

      There's so little eatin' on 'em though, they's always so scrawny

      Yes but they are often found in communes. You do the math.

    4. Re:that's historically accurate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes!

      Eat meat... or be meat!

    5. Re:that's historically accurate by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Trick is to catch a few and make soup.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    6. Re:that's historically accurate by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c126/balloonsmidget/pigman.jpg

  27. Re:H.G. Wells saw this coming by Farmer+Tim · · Score: 2, Funny

    I've only leafed through the brochures myself, but the wild life tour sounds good.

    --
    Blank until /. makes another boneheaded UI decision.
  28. You don't frighten us, English pig-dogs! by presidenteloco · · Score: 2, Funny

    Go and boil your bottom, sons of a silly person. I blow my nose at you, so-called Arthur King, you and all your silly English k-nnnnniggets. Thpppppt! Thppt! Thppt!
    GALAHAD:
    What a strange person.
    ARTHUR:
    Now look here, my good man--
    FRENCH GUARD:
    I don't wanna talk to you no more, you empty headed animal food trough wiper! I fart in your general direction! Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!

    --

    Where are we going and why are we in a handbasket?
  29. lucky pig-man hybrids by speedtux · · Score: 4, Funny

    They get the 30 minute orgasms, and they have the hands... well, you get the picture.

    They also get to eat all they want, and they probably don't mind being called "pigs".

  30. What's the big deal? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Funny

    We got em here in Phoenix. They're 300lbs and ride around on electric scooters.

    1. Re:What's the big deal? by ruin20 · · Score: 1

      Around here they wear blue and drive crown vics with pretty lights.

      --
      Oh honey look... How cute... an angry slashdotter!
  31. I have a boner. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Miss Piggy for real? can't wait.

  32. What I'm waiting for... by NormAtHome · · Score: 1

    The first pig / bird hybrid, then that'll be the day when a pig really will fly!

  33. Re:H.G. Wells saw this coming by nih · · Score: 0

    yea, all we need to do is teach them about law and order, what could possibly go wrong?

    --
    I'm a rabbit startled by the headlights of life :(
  34. Oh yeah baby by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    Most vegans I know lean left politically and don't believe in guns. Easy pickins!

    1. Re:Oh yeah baby by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Trouble is the skinny bastards can all run faster than me.

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
    2. Re:Oh yeah baby by mpeskett · · Score: 1

      I have yet to meet man who can outrun bullet.

    3. Re:Oh yeah baby by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Hey, being thin means they're not so easy to hit too!

  35. sick and wrong by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 5, Insightful

    I do favor research into genetics and much of the medical advancement that might be made with it.

    However, even the comments on this board show that people are made uncomfortable by this idea. Mostly jokes, that mask a certain discomfort from what I read.

    The end result of such experimentation with human genomic material is the trivialization of the human person.

    It is precisely that trivialization which has been the cause of every grossly unjust large scale act taken by human beings. The ability to see others as merely raw material to accomplish our goal is an underlying premise in the Nazi holocaust, white separatists movement, in slavery as was practiced in the American south , in the sweat shops of years past.

    This kind of experimentation only re-enforces that idea, that human beings are nothing but animals, so why shouldn't they be treated like them?

    It should not be allowed by any civilized nation and any nation that does allow it has already become less civilized by the very action.

    It is precisely that trivilisation which has been the cause of every grossly injust large scale act taken by human beings. The ability to see others as mearly raw material to accomplish our goal is an underlying premise in the Nazi holocaust, white sepremists movement, in slavery as was practiced in the american south , in the sweat shops of years past.

    This kind of experimentation only re-enforces that idea, that human beings are nothing but animals , so why shouldn't they be treated like them.

    It should not be allowed by any civilized nation and any nation that does allow it has already become less civialized by the very action.

    --
    âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
    1. Re:sick and wrong by The+Creator · · Score: 3, Interesting

      This kind of experimentation only re-enforces that idea, that human beings are nothing but animals

      So what are you suggesting that humans are then?

      --

      FRA: STFU GTFO
    2. Re:sick and wrong by VanGarrett · · Score: 2, Interesting

      Those who can comprehend the congruities of human and animal genetics, but cannot comprehend that we are set apart from animals by our collective intelligence, ingenuity and sentiences, deserve to be treated as animals. It is only logical to observe that we are constructed of the same materials and by the same processes as our companions on this planet. We are not silicon-based automatons, after all. It would be foolish of us to not exploit these similarities, if we can use them to improve ourselves, altogether. Let those who cannot tell the difference between themselves and the beasts, be beasts, themselves.

      --
      Learning about brewing beer, by brewing beer.
    3. Re:sick and wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Or maybe they're just laughing at people like you who think this is wrong.

      Oh, wait, you mentioned Nazis. Also you spelled "merely" and "civilized" wrong.

      For that you lose. Also, I'll criticise your sig by saying it should end with "...my punnish head."

    4. Re:sick and wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      This kind of experimentation only re-enforces that idea, that human beings are nothing but animals, so why shouldn't they be treated like them?

      You've got it the wrong way around. We should be treating other animal species with the same respect we treat human beings. Vegans have always known this.

    5. Re:sick and wrong by aproposofwhat · · Score: 1
      And how, precisely, are we set apart?

      Sure, we have language and tool use, but just because we can't ascribe meaning to the languages (albeit simple and restricted) of other species doesn't mean that they aren't sentient.

      Do dogs have a sense of self?

      From the dogs I know, it's pretty evident that they do.

      Birds? Yep - I know some parrots that are definitely individuals, taking a like or dislike to individual humans.

      Pigs? I don't know, as I haven't been exposed to pigs for around 40 years, and the last time I interacted with a pig was to put the big rubber band round its bollocks to castrate it. But when I was a kid, the pigs seemed to have distinct personalities.

      By your definition, I'm a beast - but then again, I'm proud to be so - a beast with language and tool use.

      --
      One swallow does not a fellatrix make
    6. Re:sick and wrong by Chrisje · · Score: 1

      > The end result of such experimentation with human genomic material is the trivialization of the human person.

      Funny you should mention that. The main problem with this planet is the fact that humans don't see themselves as a trivial part of the cosmos.

      Too many of us put a lot of stock in faiths (be they Jewish, Christian or Islamic) that tell us that we have an imaginary friend called God, Jahweh or Allah who created this world specifically for us and who cares for us only.

      The extreme solipsism this breeds is the direct cause of too much suffering, death and destruction to even get into in this reply to your rather whimsical post. All the things you mentioned, the holocaust, the slavery, the sweat shops and the racism is based on this solipsism. The notion that "Only I am the true Human here" facilitated the callousness towards other "lesser" human beings.

      I rather think the human race would do well to remember at all times that we are an infinitesimally small and rather quite irrelevant part of this Universe. And yes, human beings should be treated like animals. In the sense that they should be respected and not unnecessarily tortured or maimed.

      Mind you, I do eat meat, and I'm not advertising Veganism or such silliness. Because I'm an omnivore. But it don't mean I don't respect what I eat and where it came from.

      It's just that we *ARE* trivial. Deal with it.

    7. Re:sick and wrong by aproposofwhat · · Score: 1

      This kind of experimentation only re-enforces that idea, that human beings are nothing but animals, so why shouldn't they be treated like them?

      The problem with the holocaust, white separatists, slave traders, Rwandan genocide, etc. isn't the idea that human beings are nothing but animals - it's taking the view that other racial / tribal groups are lesser beings than your Aryan / WASP / slave owner / Hutu group.

      Genetics has nothing to do with the atrocities of the past (eugenics aside) - it's pure and simple tribalism, which is the most animal of all human instincts.

      --
      One swallow does not a fellatrix make
    8. Re:sick and wrong by Sciryl+Llort · · Score: 1

      # hey baby we ain't nothing but mammals,
        so let's do it like they do on the discovery channel! /#

    9. Re:sick and wrong by kmac06 · · Score: 1

      Based on your logic, you obviously wouldn't have a problem with raising people and slaughtering them for food. After all, it's just a chemical reaction.

    10. Re:sick and wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      shut up you worthless cretin

    11. Re:sick and wrong by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      However, even the comments on this board show that people are made uncomfortable by this idea. Mostly jokes, that mask a certain discomfort from what I read.

      Me thinks your projecting your feeling onto others. In text it's hard to pick up on ones feelings, so a comment that is completely innocent can come off as an insult to someone reading it who is in a bad mood. You're uncomfortable with the topic, so when you read other peoples comments you see your feelings in their words. I'm not uncomfortable with the topic and saw none of that in the jokes and comments.

    12. Re:sick and wrong by PachmanP · · Score: 1

      This kind of experimentation only re-enforces that idea, that human beings are nothing but animals

      So what are you suggesting that humans are then?

      Soylent Green? Now with bacon flavor?

      --
      You're thinking small. Why miniaturize the laser, when we could instead enlarge the sharks? -John Searle
    13. Re:sick and wrong by PachmanP · · Score: 1

      By your definition, I'm a beast - but then again, I'm proud to be so - a beast with language and tool use.

      Hey that's the line I use on the ladies!!!


      Yes I'm on /. so that is obvously untrue, but darnit it's funny!

      --
      You're thinking small. Why miniaturize the laser, when we could instead enlarge the sharks? -John Searle
    14. Re:sick and wrong by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 1

      I'm not suggesting that humans are or are not anything. I'm suggesting that there is a continuum of the value placed on human life.
      on one end human beings and their life, the right to stay alive , regardless of ones state is literally treated as sacred and not even the highest government official or most well meaning scientist has the right to act otherwise.

      On the other side human beings are no different then animals and there is no problem with using them up , as slaves, for experimentation or whatever else.

      One metric for an advanced society is the level of value it places on the lives of it's citizens.

      Whatever mechanism is used to impart that value is irrelevant , aka religion or some kind of education.

      However certain laws and behaviors, slavery, abortion , artificial insemination , genetic engineering of whole human beings etc. undermine that value in such a way that the members of those societies should reasonably be afraid that all other basic legal rights my be jeopardized.

      After all, if human beings are on the low end of the scale then why should they have freedom, of speech , or association , or thought for that mater?

      As Pavlov put it " the sooner we get over this idea that free will exists and get about the business of governing 'by conditioning' the better off we will all be".

      If that is really what you want to embrace I recommend you read the book " A brave new world" and "Fahrenheit451" because that is exactly the direction that a society that allows this kind of experimentation is heading.

      --
      âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
    15. Re:sick and wrong by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 1

      more to the point, the blurrier this line is made , by technology and law, the more difficult it becomes to make arguments that support treating people better then animals.

      Already in spain, they are attempting to pass a law that grants the 'human rights' to all of the large apes.

      The point it gets down to is. If I can eat a Pig, why can't I eat a man. If I can enslave a pig, why not a man? What makes a man more valuable then a pig, besides what the man can do?

      What if I genetically engineer a pig that can do talk and has opposable thumbs? Then what are the obligations?

      It is wrong to create a pig man , for a reason realted to the reason why murder is wrong.
      It's end resualt is to decrease the level of trust members of society can have in each other.

      That decrease in trust is what evetully destroys a society.

      --
      âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
    16. Re:sick and wrong by VanGarrett · · Score: 1

      Language and tool use alone do not make a species distinct from animals. Otters will use rocks as tools to break open clams. Chimps will use twigs to fish ants out of ant hills, for a tasty snack. Sure, it's creative, and it demonstrates problem-solving abilities, but in all the time these species have been using the tools, they're still just sticks and stones. Humans started with a rock, but that rock has since become a wide variety of hammers for different, specialized purposes.

      When was the last time you saw a dog demonstrate a clear understanding of Trigonometry, or a pig perform Calculus? Where you aware that a chicken's behavior does not change after its head has been cut off? Animals do not care for these things. In their natural environments, their primary concerns deal with finding their next meal. Cats display this motivation quite apparently, even when they are in the constant presence of humans.

      The short of it is this: While the beasts of the Earth sometimes show qualities that we can relate to, they do not have the comprehension that we have. They do not engage in the study of concepts that exist in the mind, but cannot exist in the world, as we do. They do not build complex machines or write software, as we do. Just the same, they do not share an awareness with us. When we do encounter another species that demonstrates our sort of intelligence, then they, too, will be distinct from animals.

      --
      Learning about brewing beer, by brewing beer.
  36. Just another reason by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    For my wife to call me a "pig"

  37. Don't worry by jameskojiro · · Score: 1

    The Anthropomorphism of animals will help to offset things this time, maybe we can thanks the furries. Heaven forbid....

    --
    Tsukasa: All I really want, is to be left alone...
  38. lucky pig-man hybrids by Dubhglas · · Score: 1

    Everyone who has seen Malcolm McDowell in "O Lucky man!" wants to know: does this involve the Millar Clinic?

  39. What could possibly go wrong?! by mlwmohawk · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Does anyone see the inherent danger of making a hybrid which could create an evolutionary path for diseases which are isolated in pigs to infect humans and vice versa?

    Humans wiped out by a virus never able to get a grip on human DNA and/or pigs wiped out by viruses never able to infect pigs.

    This is no joke. This stuff is crazy and a real concern. Just because it is a well researched and studied idea, doesn't mean its a good idea.

    Fuck asteroids and global warming, genetic research will wipe us out long before the other methods by which we've been seeking to kill ourselves.

    Now the theological question, does man-pig have a soul? Will it go to heaven? What if it has intelligence? I mean, G. W. Bushpig. couldn't be much smarter.

    1. Re:What could possibly go wrong?! by bob_herrick · · Score: 2, Informative
      I think you need to go back and reread the refernce. This article from the UK makes it pretty clear that

      We will take skin cells from patients who have a mutation for certain kinds of heart disease (cardiomyopathy, which makes the heart lose its pumping strength) and put them into pig eggs after their chromosomes have been removed. We will then make embryos so that we can attempt to derive embryonic stem cells which will allow us to study some of the molecular mechanisms associated with these heart diseases.

      That 'attempt to derive embryonic stem cells' is not going to leave a viable embryo behind. Sorry, no man-pigs, just cells to culture and use for heart repair.

    2. Re:What could possibly go wrong?! by mlwmohawk · · Score: 1

      That 'attempt to derive embryonic stem cells' is not going to leave a viable embryo behind. Sorry, no man-pigs, just cells to culture and use for heart repair.

      If the stem cells are used in people there *will* be pig/human hybrid DNA exposed to real viruses. These viruses may quickly adapt to the pig DNA and may be able to infect pigs with human diseases. Worse, maybe viruses infecting pigs will infect the eventual outcome of the stem cells and find a way to adapt to human cells. Thus introducing a virus that has never infected us.

  40. Man Bear Pig by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Splice some bear's genome in and we will get man bear pig.

  41. Risky business by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    This is how you create cross species deceases. Feed chicken shit to sheep and cows and you get Creutzfeldt-Jakob. Create polio vaccines in Africa and you get AIDS. If you want to experiment please use human tissue.

  42. This confirms it by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Video footage

  43. OT: the game by FiloEleven · · Score: 2, Informative

    God dammit! I *did* just lose the game, and I had a winning streak of close to 4 years, my personal best!

    At least I know I'll be bringing other people down with me.

    --
    Your brain is not a computer.
    1. Re:OT: the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      PLease oh please mod parent up!

    2. Re:OT: the game by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      OK jackass, I was lucky enough to not notice the signature of grandparent, but then you had to spoil it for me. After winning for 1 year, why did it have to happen like this:(

    3. Re:OT: the game by FiloEleven · · Score: 1

      Oh, believe me, friend, I would have rather not mentioned it at all. But the rules clearly state that if you lose, you gotta own up to it.

      --
      Your brain is not a computer.
  44. Frankenpiggy over period? by Magdalene · · Score: 2, Interesting

    I am moderately surprised that this type of research is still going on/causing such controversy.

    One would think that with all the evidence pointing at things like:


    Multipotential Stem Cells from Menstrual Blood,
      Menstrual Blood Can Provide Adult Stem Cells,
      Menstrual Blood: A Valuable Source Of Multipotential Stem Cells?,
      Stem Cells Have Utility in Fighting Disease> and
      New type of stem cell from menstrual blood
     

    would have convinced these scientists to give up splicing pig butts to people and go to the controversy free stem cells by now. Perhaps they don't wan't to get their fingers wet.

    Mr. Garrison's: "Well, I'm sorry, Wendy. But I just don't trust anything that bleeds for five days and doesn't die." Was supposed to be irony, you know irony, its a metal, like goldy and silvery.

    -m

    --
    -Magdalene --"there are 10 types of people in the world, those who read binary, and those who don't"
  45. Re:H.G. Wells saw this coming by msu320 · · Score: 1

    Read? it's hard enough to get /.ers to RTFA... and you ask them to read a book?

    --
    New slashdot layout sucks.
  46. Orcs? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Oh My Dear Eru IlÃvatar!

    Sauron's back! And this time the bad-ass has access to electron microscopes and technicians...

    Whatever...Anyway you think about it, this is probably a very bad thing if it ever works.

    ~d

    PS:
    To save SOMEBODY the trouble:

    I for one welcome our Orcish overlords!

    In second age Mordor, Pigs clone you!

    1) invent man/pig hybrid
    2) ?
    3) Profit.

    etc...

  47. South park reference by Peaker · · Score: 1

    "Killlllllllllll me..."

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douche_and_Turd

  48. well... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I for one welcome our human-pig hybrid overlords

  49. A quote from Chairman Yang by Atmchicago · · Score: 1

    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.

    * Chairman Sheng-ji Yang, "Looking God in the Eye"

    --

    You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it dissolve.

    1. Re:A quote from Chairman Yang by fish_in_the_c · · Score: 1

      because humans are "sacred".
      The less sacred they are the more easily exploited they are. The more easily exploited the less trust individuals in society can have of one another and in the end the fabric of that society is compromised or destroyed.

      Answer me this question. Why should murder be illegal?

      --
      âoeTolerance applies only to persons, but never to truth. Intolerance applies only to truth, but never to persons.
  50. Meh...it has all been done before by hiojay · · Score: 1

    People...this is old news!!!! The actual first human pig embryo was successfully created almost 50 years ago. It even has a photo, check it out: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000102/

  51. Approval for Bears next? by blankoboy · · Score: 1

    All we need now is approval for Bear embryos and Al Gore's will be right!! - ManBearPig
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ManBearPig/

    "ManBearPig, half man, half bear, half pig, who roams the Earth and attacks humans".

  52. It's just butchery of the finest kind by 4latinos · · Score: 1

    I can not believe this shit.. Some predictions I've read in the past are coming true! f&*k! "armies of half pigs half humans will be sent one day to kill normal humans" science? bull shit.. they will not fear enemy's bullets or knives and will not cry either.. the "perfect soldiers" this is shit.. to all honesty.. 800 more years of this to past the worst though.. in the meantime, we can't do more than watch.. observe how we eat ourselves in our own labs.. and how we exterminate the natural life and the planet.. outrage of the worst kind will you just sit behind your pretty screen watching this shit just develop? well, what else can we do? I know.. invest your devalued dollar in their company, to make "their" dreams come true! all for the sake of the dollar.. dreams of seeing shares rise in value..? only temporary though.. shit dreams or short temped riches.. how sad.. but there is hope.. our spirit lives past this crap.. even if we ruin our bodies..

  53. Humanpig? No! Spiderpig by HighFlyer · · Score: 1

    Who cares about a human-pig crossover hybrid? I demand SPIDERPIG!

    --

    -- Truth suffers from too much analysis.
  54. Obligatory by kramerd · · Score: 1

    I, for one, welcome our soon to be pig-man overlords.

  55. Ooooh, I get it! :D by GameboyRMH · · Score: 1

    If I understand correctly that should be just like harvesting stem cells from human embryos, while sidestepping the right-wing-religious nutjobs who have a problem with destroying human embryos, 'cuz the embryos came from pigs! Sweet!

    Just don't let those wackos know they'll basically be identical to human embryos ;) (again, if I understand correctly) Onward with science! :D

    --
    "When information is power, privacy is freedom" - Jah-Wren Ryel
  56. What's going on... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The embryo serves only to create the right environment for fetal development. Basically what happens is that they take the pig embryo and take out all of the pig DNA, then insert the human DNA. The human DNA (which can be taken out of any human cell, say the liver or skin) will tell the ex-pig embryo what to do. To form into a human being.

    It's kinda like, buying a house to live in, doesn't matter where the house comes from, it'll be home because of your family that lives inside.

  57. Godwin's Law by monk · · Score: 1

    Godwin's Law violation detected in line four. Please report to HR for ontological realignment.

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Godwin's_law

    --
    [-- Trust the Monkey --]
  58. truth starnger than fiction. by LongTimeReader · · Score: 1

    Britain == Island of Dr. Moroe?

    --
    If closed the mind be, so then the mouth should follow.
    1. Re:truth starnger than fiction. by Tetsujin · · Score: 1

      Britain == Island of Dr. Moroe?

      Moreau.

      --
      Bow-ties are cool.
  59. Now I understand why DNF is not released. by master_p · · Score: 1

    3D Realms is waiting for some real Pig-Humans to pose as Pig Cops so as that they can motion-capture them...hmmm...that's perfection!

  60. Pig brain farm?? by Tetsujin · · Score: 1

    Wasn't this a plot point in "Ghost in the Shell: Man-Machine Interface"? Somebody cloned a bunch of pigs with human DNA in them and used them as a secret brain bank connected to the net or something...

    --
    Bow-ties are cool.
  61. Mmm..... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Barbecued-spare-kids!

  62. There is no connection betwn polio vaccines & by anonymousJUGGERNAUT · · Score: 1

    http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2007/10/aids-didnt-come.html Presented for the record. It's not a crazy theory, but it happens to be wrong.

  63. Shake n Bake by E.T.123 · · Score: 1

    Anyone else think of the line on talledega nights were ricky bobby talks about livin forever? "The guy didn't but its exciting that were trying things like that"