{"id":5302,"date":"2011-08-07T18:53:36","date_gmt":"2011-08-07T22:53:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/news\/?p=5302"},"modified":"2011-08-05T12:58:48","modified_gmt":"2011-08-05T16:58:48","slug":"la-times-are-rules-needed-for-animal-human-hybrids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/news\/2011\/08\/la-times-are-rules-needed-for-animal-human-hybrids","title":{"rendered":"LA Times: Are rules needed for animal-human hybrids?"},"content":{"rendered":"

“The idea human-animal chimeras may conjure images from science fiction,”\u00a0writes Los Angeles Times<\/em> blogger Chris Woolston.<\/p>\n

“To many, human-animal chimeras —\u00a0 animals that contain human cells — sound like the stuff of nightmares. If you can picture a frog with a human head, a monkey with human vocal chords or a dog with opposable thumbs, you can see why some people want to put the brakes on any sort of scientific experiment that mixes cells from different species.”<\/p>\n

But the reality is far less alarming, he writes:<\/p>\n

Picture instead a pig that produces human insulin or a mouse getting chemotherapy for its human cancer cells. But inter-species blends still raise concerns, even among scientists. The British Academy of Medical Sciences just released a report calling for new rules to avoid ethical missteps. The report expressed particular concern over several types of research, including anything that would implant human brain cells into animals. During a comment period, some members of the public worried that such experiments could give animals human memories.<\/p>\n

That sounds like a great premise for a science fiction short story: The mouse who remembers growing up in a dysfunctional family in the suburbs. But even the academy acknowledges that an animal with human thoughts or consciousness is pretty far-fetched. Indeed, many of the fears surrounding chimeras are based on a misunderstanding of the real-world applications.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

CLICK HERE to read more<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“The idea human-animal chimeras may conjure images from science fiction,”\u00a0writes Los Angeles Times blogger Chris Woolston. “To many, human-animal chimeras —\u00a0 animals that contain human cells — sound like the stuff of nightmares. 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