Human-Animal Hybrid Stem Cell Controversy
Over the past few years the medical research industry has been locked in constant debate over the creations of “chimeras”, or human-animal hybrids, being created for the purpose of medical research and scientific developments. Proponents of utilizing genetic hybrids of both humans and animals feel that this is an effective way to study many aspects of human physiology and develop alternative cellular sources for stem cell research and treatment, while many opponents feel that it is a direct violation of nature and poses many risks that cannot be foreseen and should not be tampered with.
A chimera, named so because of the ancient Greek mythological creature, is a genetic hybrid in some way blending both human and animal parts to create a new creature. In many ways this has been going on for years with humans receiving heart valve transplants from pigs or cows, enabling them to repair faulty valves of their own that may have been damaged over time. The recent controversy, however, comes not from a surgical combining of two separate organisms but by combining human DNA at a cellular level with animal DNA in order to create a hybrid mixture of the two forms.
Already as of 2003 Chinese scientists in Shanghai have successfully blended human cells with rabbit eggs that were destroyed before birth to study developmental processes. In the US as well many reports of blending human brain cells with mice to generate hybrids with anywhere from 1% to nearly all of their brain is composed of human brain cells have also been created in the hopes of studying brain diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s.
In regards to stem cell research the successful blending of human cells with animal embryos could potentially create cellular lines that would allow individuals to receive stem cell treatments for various illnesses without endangering human lives – even being able to harvest valuable embryonic stem cells without threatening a developing fetus. Controversy over this, however, lies in establishing a definitive outline of just when a cellular organism is considered “human”, what rights chimeras may have (if any) and what legal and ethical grounds can be considered appropriate for handling such research both now and in the future.
Currently research into developing and utilizing chimeras is outlawed in many countries including Canada with legislation expected in many other regions as well, however at this time ongoing research conducted in a number of locations is proving promising for many hoping to utilize human-animal hybrids for stem cell lines and other treatments in the coming years.
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