Puteri’s Musings 2

Experiments to create Britain’s first embryos that merge human and animal material will begin within months after a Government watchdog today approved two research teams to carry out the controversial work.Scientists at King’s College London and the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne will now inject human DNA into empty eggs from cows, to create embryos known as cytoplasmic hybrids that are 99.9 per cent human in genetic terms.The experiments are intended to provide insights into diseases such as Parkinson’s and spinal muscular atrophy by producing stem cells containing genetic defects that contribute to these conditions.

These will be used as cell models for investigating new approaches to treatment and for improving understanding of how embryonic stem cells develop. They will not be used in therapy, and it is illegal to implant them into the womb.

Full story here.

I should hope that it is indeed illegal to have the hybrid embryos implanted into the womb! To call this work controversial is an understatement! I am surprised to read that the British public is largely supportive of this research.

Have you seen the movie “The Fly” starring Jeff Goldblum? A story about how a human had his DNA accidentally merged with a fly and resulted in a hybrid creature that is neither a fly nor human.

What if some unscrupulous scientists did implant the hybrid embryos in a womb? Will the result be a creature that is neither cow nor human? I shudder to think of that possibility!

I think this is what opponents of animal cloning were afraid of. That scientists would not be satisfied with merely cloning animals. That the research would eventually lead to human cloning and the experimentation of human and animal hybrids.

The phrase “playing God” comes to mind.

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