Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human
Strange news indeed.
Scientists have created the world's first human-sheep chimera - which has the body of a sheep and half-human organs.
The sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells - and their evolution brings the prospect of animal organs being transplanted into humans one step closer.
Professor Esmail Zanjani, of the University of Nevada, has spent seven years and £5million perfecting the technique, which involves injecting adult human cells into a sheep's foetus.
Chimera: sheep have 15 per cent human cells and 85 per cent animal cells
He has already created a sheep liver which has a large proportion of human cells and eventually hopes to precisely match a sheep to a transplant patient, using their own stem cells to create their own flock of sheep.
The process would involve extracting stem cells from the donor's bone marrow and injecting them into the peritoneum of a sheep's foetus. When the lamb is born, two months later, it would have a liver, heart, lungs and brain that are partly human and available for transplant.
"We would take a couple of ounces of bone marrow cells from the patient,' said Prof Zanjani, whose work is highlighted in a Channel 4 programme tomorrow.
"We would isolate the stem cells from them, inject them into the peritoneum of these animals and then these cells would get distributed throughout the metabolic system into the circulatory system of all the organs in the body. The two ounces of stem cell or bone marrow cell we get would provide enough stem cells to do about ten foetuses. So you don't just have one organ for transplant purposes, you have many available in case the first one fails."
At present 7,168 patients are waiting for an organ transplant in Britain alone, and two thirds of them are expected to die before an organ becomes available.
Scientists at King's College, London, and the North East Stem Cell Institute in Newcastle have now applied to the HFEA, the Government's fertility watchdog, for permission to start work on the chimeras.
But the development is likely to revive criticisms about scientists playing God, with the possibility of silent viruses, which are harmless in animals, being introduced into the human race.
Dr Patrick Dixon, an international lecturer on biological trends, warned: "Many silent viruses could create a biological nightmare in humans. Mutant animal viruses are a real threat, as we have seen with HIV."
Animal rights activists fear that if the cells get mixed together, they could end up with cellular fusion, creating a hybrid which would have the features and characteristics of both man and sheep. But Prof Zanjani said: "Transplanting the cells into foetal sheep at this early stage does not result in fusion at all."
Yo
I agree with you whole heartedly.
Quote:
Originally Posted by
kcajblue
well. i dont think scientists should be messing around with sheep just so they can find a way to make themselves live longer.
Thats the reason I wanted to post this article.
Look at what science is doing.
This may seem appalling. It may even be disturbing.
But its a glimpse into the future. In time people will be seeking this as a form of leisure. not just medical sciences. Look at people like marylyn manson, And the mass medias. people do shocking things to there selves to be different. unique. in the future. people will be seeking animal implants that have been genetically bred to match there own genes. just to have an eagles eye sight. or a bears strength,
Or the physical stamina of a cheetah. or any number of physically altering aspects.
In a hundred years. this will be as common as getting a tattoo.
" hey look I just had the procedure done, and now I have the skin texture of a chameleon"
These things sound like off the wall fantasy. But look at the abomination of a news article that was posted above.
Make no mistake its coming to that.
And its not only sad. Its kind of frightening.
Imagine, if you will. The natural offspring of two genetically enhanced people.
Both having different enhancements. . Those people will be giving birth to what some would consider A literal abomination.
The world is a scary place. and sciece like this makes me glad I wont be around a hundred years from now to see what the world has come to.
