Science Human-Pig Chimera Embryos Have Been Created! - Page 4

Pitt Gorilla · 01-26-2017, 01:44 PM

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and...-been-created/

The world is a little closer to one of the ethical dilemmas we have put off thinking about. Embryos have been produced combining DNA from pigs and humans to make a so-called “chimera”. They were allowed to develop for weeks before being destroyed. Almost certainly, such chimeric embryos will soon go further, but technical challenges have made their formation harder than scientists expected.

Chimeras are organisms formed from two fertilized cells or zygotes, particularly those from different species. They sound like they should stay in the pages of J.K. Rowling books or ancient mythology, but there are good reasons why some want to create them. Most notably, people are dying from a shortage of donor organs such as hearts and kidneys. Chimeras, particularly those made by combining pig and human fertilized cells, could offer a solution, producing organs that are similar enough to our own to be transferred effectively.

The idea strikes many as horrendous, but others argue it is no worse than raising animals, often in shocking conditions, purely to eat them. It also might be hard to tell someone whose only hope of survival rests with a chimeric liver that the idea is too repulsive to implement. Science fiction writers and philosophers have spent some time wrestling with the issues, but political institutions and the wider public have generally put it in the basket of difficult things we don't have to worry about just yet.

So the announcement in Cell of the successful creation of a pig-human chimera embryo serves as a wake-up call that we can't put off thinking much longer about whether this is something we should do.

The efforts of lead investigator Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte of the Salk Institute and his team have showed that the obstacles are not just ethical. “The ultimate goal is to grow functional and transplantable tissue and organs, but we are far away from that,” Belmonte said in a statement. “This is an important first step.”

Izpisua Belmonte started by putting rat stem cells into a mouse embryo, something others have previously achieved. He then used gene-editing tools to delete the mouse genes responsible for the development of specific organs and replaced them with the rat equivalents. "The rat cells have a functional copy of the missing mouse gene, so they can outcompete mouse cells in occupying the emptied developmental organ niches," said first author Dr Jun Wu, also of the Salk Institute.

Human stem cells have previously been introduced to mouse embryos, but results have been poor. Izpisua Belmonte and Wu went large, leading a team of 40 people in an attempt to introduce human cells into cows and pigs. The bovine portion of the work proved more difficult and expensive, and was dropped in favor of a focus on pigs.

Even this wasn't easy, however. Pigs take less than four months from conception to birth, so development is much faster than for humans. "It's as if the human cells were entering a freeway going faster than the normal freeway," said Izpisua Belmonte. "If you have different speeds, you will have accidents."

Although the team eventually managed to get intermediate human pluripotent stem cells to form a chimera within a porcine embryo, the product was more pig than man. The authors consider this a good thing, since many of the biggest ethical issues would arise with the creation of a creature with a human-like brain.

The embryos were destroyed after 3-4 weeks, having demonstrated their viability to that point. The authors are working on inserting specific human genes into subsequent chimeras (as was done with the rat-mouse predecessors) to make more human organs.

**Rain Man** · 01-27-2017, 10:52 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Just because something can be done, doesnt mean it should be done

They're creating abominations

Wrong thread. I think you meant to post here: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=285643

**Easy 6** · 01-27-2017, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

Wrong thread. I think you meant to post here: http://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=285643

I stand corrected

Fish · 01-27-2017, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Easy 6

Just because something can be done, doesnt mean it should be done

They're creating abominations

.....

**Easy 6** · 01-27-2017, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

.....

Google "ethics of creating chimeras for organ transplants" and you will find no shortage of serious questions being raised about this practice... the op itself recognizes this fact

So you can shove that emoji up your ass

O.city · 01-27-2017, 11:29 AM

What's the downside here?

scho63 · 01-27-2017, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LoneWolf

Embryos with human cells were destroyed after 3-4 weeks. The anti-abortion crowd will not stand for this.

But the pro-abortion crowd will throw a party.......

**gblowfish** · 01-27-2017, 12:56 PM

Smokehouse BBQ logo is a pig eating itself.
Just wanted to point that out in case it fits in with all this...

Pitt Gorilla · 01-27-2017, 01:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

What's the downside here?

Outside of the crazy anti-medicine/science folks, there isn't any.

stevieray · 01-27-2017, 01:33 PM

....as in the days of Noah.

Fish · 01-27-2017, 01:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by O.city

What's the downside here?

We might advance medicine, and that's an abomination because mankind's intelligence was meant to be static. /Dope 6

**Easy 6** · 01-27-2017, 03:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla

Outside of the crazy anti-medicine/science folks, there isn't any.

Yeah, thats why there is a serious debate in the scientific community about the ethics of this... and also, please dont go posting any more of your "Christian" tripe if you dont at least have a few serious questions about this practice

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fish

We might advance medicine, and that's an abomination because mankind's intelligence was meant to be static. /Dope 6

Google up the ethics debate on it, turd... you're one weird dude

The atheist liberal good ol boy deer hunter, yeah you're ****ing strange

**Easy 6** · 01-27-2017, 04:03 PM

Major strides are being made in 3D printed organs, as well as lab grown specimens

There are other scientific avenues to pursue besides this one

**Dave Lane** · 01-27-2017, 08:12 PM

So is this part of the Trump story?

01-26-2017, 01:44 PM
Pitt Gorilla Banned! Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: NOT Columbia, MO 65201 Casino cash: $2790194	Human-Pig Chimera Embryos Have Been Created! http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and...-been-created/ The world is a little closer to one of the ethical dilemmas we have put off thinking about. Embryos have been produced combining DNA from pigs and humans to make a so-called “chimera”. They were allowed to develop for weeks before being destroyed. Almost certainly, such chimeric embryos will soon go further, but technical challenges have made their formation harder than scientists expected. Chimeras are organisms formed from two fertilized cells or zygotes, particularly those from different species. They sound like they should stay in the pages of J.K. Rowling books or ancient mythology, but there are good reasons why some want to create them. Most notably, people are dying from a shortage of donor organs such as hearts and kidneys. Chimeras, particularly those made by combining pig and human fertilized cells, could offer a solution, producing organs that are similar enough to our own to be transferred effectively. The idea strikes many as horrendous, but others argue it is no worse than raising animals, often in shocking conditions, purely to eat them. It also might be hard to tell someone whose only hope of survival rests with a chimeric liver that the idea is too repulsive to implement. Science fiction writers and philosophers have spent some time wrestling with the issues, but political institutions and the wider public have generally put it in the basket of difficult things we don't have to worry about just yet. So the announcement in Cell of the successful creation of a pig-human chimera embryo serves as a wake-up call that we can't put off thinking much longer about whether this is something we should do. The efforts of lead investigator Professor Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte of the Salk Institute and his team have showed that the obstacles are not just ethical. “The ultimate goal is to grow functional and transplantable tissue and organs, but we are far away from that,” Belmonte said in a statement. “This is an important first step.” Izpisua Belmonte started by putting rat stem cells into a mouse embryo, something others have previously achieved. He then used gene-editing tools to delete the mouse genes responsible for the development of specific organs and replaced them with the rat equivalents. "The rat cells have a functional copy of the missing mouse gene, so they can outcompete mouse cells in occupying the emptied developmental organ niches," said first author Dr Jun Wu, also of the Salk Institute. Human stem cells have previously been introduced to mouse embryos, but results have been poor. Izpisua Belmonte and Wu went large, leading a team of 40 people in an attempt to introduce human cells into cows and pigs. The bovine portion of the work proved more difficult and expensive, and was dropped in favor of a focus on pigs. Even this wasn't easy, however. Pigs take less than four months from conception to birth, so development is much faster than for humans. "It's as if the human cells were entering a freeway going faster than the normal freeway," said Izpisua Belmonte. "If you have different speeds, you will have accidents." Although the team eventually managed to get intermediate human pluripotent stem cells to form a chimera within a porcine embryo, the product was more pig than man. The authors consider this a good thing, since many of the biggest ethical issues would arise with the creation of a creature with a human-like brain. The embryos were destroyed after 3-4 weeks, having demonstrated their viability to that point. The authors are working on inserting specific human genes into subsequent chimeras (as was done with the rat-mouse predecessors) to make more human organs.
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01-27-2017, 11:29 AM	#50
O.city In Search of a Life Join Date: Jul 2009 Casino cash: $2594064	What's the downside here?
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01-27-2017, 12:56 PM	#52
gblowfish Be Kind To Your Pets Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Glorious Independence, MO Casino cash: $17646178 VARSITY	Smokehouse BBQ logo is a pig eating itself. Just wanted to point that out in case it fits in with all this... Attached Thumbnails
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01-27-2017, 01:33 PM	#54
stevieray best in the biz Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Under Pressure Casino cash: $2425273	....as in the days of Noah.
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01-27-2017, 04:03 PM	#57
Easy 6 pie is never free Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: the drivers seat Casino cash: $3567775	Major strides are being made in 3D printed organs, as well as lab grown specimens There are other scientific avenues to pursue besides this one
Posts: 91,845

01-27-2017, 08:12 PM	#58
Dave Lane Space Cadet and Aczabel Join Date: Aug 2000 Location: Kanab, UT, USA Casino cash: $9333275 VARSITY	So is this part of the Trump story? __________________ Thanks, Trump for the civics lesson. We are learning so much about RICO, espionage, sedition, impeachment, the 25th Amendment, order of succession, nepotism, separation of powers, 1st Amendment, obstruction of justice, the emoluments clause, conflicts of interest, collusion, sanctions, oligarchs, money laundering and so much more.
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