Pablo Ross of the University of California, Davis inserts human stem cells into a pig embryo as part of experiments to create chimeric embryos. Photo by Rob Stein/NPR [1]
NPR – Southern California Public Radio [1]
Excerpts:
A handful of scientists around the United States are trying to do something that some people find disturbing: make embryos that are part human, part animal. The researchers hope these embryos, known as chimeras, could eventually help save the lives of people with a wide range of diseases.
But some scientists and bioethicists worry the creation of these interspecies embryos crosses the line.
“You’re getting into unsettling ground that I think is damaging to our sense of humanity,” says Stuart Newman [2], a professor of cell biology and anatomy at the New York Medical College.
The experiments are so sensitive that the National Institutes of Health has imposed a moratorium [3] on funding them while officials explore the ethical issues they raise.
Nevertheless, a small number of researchers are pursuing the work with alternative funding. They hope the results will persuade the NIH to lift the moratorium.
“We’re not trying to make a chimera just because we want to see some kind of monstrous creature,” says Pablo Ross [4], a reproductive biologist at the University of California, Davis. “We’re doing this for a biomedical purpose.”
Read the full story at NPR [1].