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Chinese Scientists Have Put Human Brain Genes In Monkeys -- And Yes, They May Be Smarter (technologyreview.com)
Scientists in southern China report that they've created several transgenic macaque monkeys with extra copies of a human gene suspected of playing a role in shaping human intelligence. "According to their findings, the modified monkeys did better on a memory test involving colors and block pictures, and their brains also took longer to develop -- as those of human children do," reports MIT Technology Review. "There wasn't a difference in brain size." From the report: The experiments, described on March 27 in a Beijing journal, National Science Review, and first reported by Chinese media, remain far from pinpointing the secrets of the human mind or leading to an uprising of brainy primates. Bing Su, the geneticist at the Kunming Institute of Zoology who led the effort, specializes in searching for signs of "Darwinian selection" -- that is, genes that have been spreading because they're successful. His quest has spanned such topics as Himalayan yaks' adaptation to high altitude and the evolution of human skin color in response to cold winters. [Instead of the FOXP2 gene famous for its potential link to human speech] Su was fascinated by a different gene: MCPH1, or microcephalin. Not only did the gene's sequence differ between humans and apes, but babies with damage to microcephalin are born with tiny heads, providing a link to brain size. With his students, Su once used calipers and head spanners to the measure the heads of 867 Chinese men and women to see if the results could be explained by differences in the gene.
By 2010, though, Su saw a chance to carry out a potentially more definitive experiment -- adding the human microcephalin gene to a monkey. China by then had begun pairing its sizable breeding facilities for monkeys (the country exports more than 30,000 a year) with the newest genetic tools, an effort that has turned it into a mecca for foreign scientists who need monkeys to experiment on. To create the animals, Su and collaborators at the Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research exposed monkey embryos to a virus carrying the human version of microcephalin. They generated 11 monkeys, five of which survived to take part in a battery of brain measurements. Those monkeys each have between two and nine copies of the human gene in their bodies. After putting the monkeys inside MRI machines to measure their white matter, they gave them computerized memory tests. "According to their report, the transgenic monkeys didn't have larger brains, but they did better on a short-term memory quiz, a finding the team considers remarkable," reports MIT Technology Review.
By 2010, though, Su saw a chance to carry out a potentially more definitive experiment -- adding the human microcephalin gene to a monkey. China by then had begun pairing its sizable breeding facilities for monkeys (the country exports more than 30,000 a year) with the newest genetic tools, an effort that has turned it into a mecca for foreign scientists who need monkeys to experiment on. To create the animals, Su and collaborators at the Yunnan Key Laboratory of Primate Biomedical Research exposed monkey embryos to a virus carrying the human version of microcephalin. They generated 11 monkeys, five of which survived to take part in a battery of brain measurements. Those monkeys each have between two and nine copies of the human gene in their bodies. After putting the monkeys inside MRI machines to measure their white matter, they gave them computerized memory tests. "According to their report, the transgenic monkeys didn't have larger brains, but they did better on a short-term memory quiz, a finding the team considers remarkable," reports MIT Technology Review.
Soon there will monkey quotas at colleges and businesses...
did Planet of the Apes teach us nothing?
Or smarter than humans?
Seeing the Chinese track record concerning human rights they probably are developing this as a backup plan in case they fail at turning their own citizens into good little obedient robots; create a slave race of smarter simians, then kill off the human population (except for The Rich and The Ruling Class, that is).
April Fools ?
Before we go anywhere toward blurring the lines between human and non-human I want to see some agreements on rules. We may seen be able to grow Neanderthals and create various human / animal chimeras, but they could end up in a very fuzzy and controversial legal space. How much and what types of human DNA gives something rights.
We are approaching this from another direction (but possibly very slowly) through AI.
So we are so utterly stupid that we are able to create amazing things? You're arguing against yourself...and losing. Maybe take a break from posting for a while. You're not in a happy place.
Shutting down free speech with violence isn't fighting fascism. It IS fascism!
Su once used calipers and head spanners to the measure the heads of 867 Chinese men and women to see if the results could be explained by differences in the gene
Wasn't this a thing in the 1800's? "Craniology" or somesuch.
What's stupid is how uppity the luddites get on a website full of people who really should know better. Genetics isn't that scary or dangerous (well, working with fast-multiplying microbes can sometimes be.)
What's dangerous is our current set of "ethics" and sense of sacredness when it comes to human DNA. The Chinese inner party doesn't give a fuck, and neither do Russian billionaires who want smart children. The improvement (or "improvement", if you prefer the scare quotes) of the human genome is going to happen... with or without us and our Jurassic Park-esque fears.
Wasn't that the plot of Congo?
CAN == SHOULD, pick up a thesaurus you unzealous slob.
One of their large yellow-haired orangutans escaped from the lab a few years ago, last seen on a cargo ship headed for the USA. It has light-colored rings around its eyes, and reportedly likes KFC, Big Macs, and bricks. The researchers are not really concerned because it wasn't one of their more promising apes.
Cockroach lawyers & politicians? So not really any change.
Table-ized A.I.
If you have any spare Smart Monkeys laying about, please send us some.
We would like to replace most of our elected government as we feel Intelligent Monkeys could not possibly do any worse than what we've been forced to endure over the past few decades.
Thanks in advance
Your reply tells us why you don't learn from fiction -- it's because you don't question your own beliefs. A skeptical person is, above all, skeptical of their own beliefs. Fiction presents different perspectives and asks us to think "what if this is correct or partially correct?" and "what do I believe that's wrong?"
So no, we should not "treat fiction as if it is real" because that would be ridiculous. It means we should not treat our own beliefs as if they are real until they've been tested widely. If you can suspend your disbelief for a fictional story in your head, then you can suspend your disbelief to create a fact in your head that is actually false.
China by then had begun pairing its sizable breeding facilities for monkeys (the country exports more than 30,000 a year) with the newest genetic tools, an effort that has turned it into a mecca for foreign scientists who need monkeys to experiment on.
But hardly a Mecca for Monkeys.
He said human-animal hybrids are prohibited neither by human rights, nor by animal rights.
Heroes die once, cowards live longer.
Also a very likely future scenario of human societal development. Why wait for evolution?
So many jokes that would make ++5 funny mods come to my mind... Alas! all of them are very racist....
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Human brain genes in animals brought to term, editing human children... Did China never hear of medical ethics? Something is going to go horribly wrong.
I wonder where you got such absurd numbers. Not from good science, that much I know.
They generally show us the way, the don't actually "teach us". Hey, planet of the apes is cool, let's do that! Hey, president Camacho is cool, if we can't get Terry Crews right now, let's start with Trump!
Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent. Polar Scope Align for iOS
If you put 100 of them on typewriters in a room, they will write the next Hamlet
Put some monkey brain cells in humans....considering the stupidity of a lot we see day to day... might not hurt to try ;)
This seems like animal cruelty/crazy/mad scientist/you name it. Not a fan. WTF China?
How did the monkeys die?
Alternate interpretation: chucking buckets of instant sunshine around isn't a great idea.
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Do you develop flight control software for Boeing, by any chance?
Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
Think Aaron Cross, Bourne Legacy or Dr. Julian Bashir, Star Trek DS9.
Helping people with development disabilities lead a normal life.
Are the Chinese likely to care about our "rules"?
They care about international perception. Also at least we can think about what we our doing ourselves.
In writing, you say?
from chim-pan-a to chim-pan-zee.