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Human-Sheep genetic chimera

 
 
View Profile DrewDad
 
Reply Sun 25 Mar, 2007 12:52 pm
Now scientists create a sheep that's 15% human

Quote:
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.

...



I can't decide if this is flocking crazy, or not.
 
View Profile sozobe
 
  1  
Reply Sun 25 Mar, 2007 12:56 pm
I can't decide if this is good ewes or baaaaaaaad ewes.
0 Replies
 
View Profile DrewDad
 
  1  
Reply Sun 25 Mar, 2007 01:03 pm
Mutton catches you by surprise, does it?
0 Replies
 
View Profile stuh505
 
  1  
Reply Sun 25 Mar, 2007 01:33 pm
For growing regular organs like livers etc it seems like a great idea. We already slaughter these animals to eat, so slaughtering them to save lives can hardly be protested.

However, this exerpt does raise some flags..I don't think anyone wants sheep running around with the mental capacity of humans. Of course, we'd never know!

Quote:
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.


Quote:
Prof Zanjani said: "Transplanting the cells into foetal sheep at this early stage does not result in fusion at all."
0 Replies
 
View Profile Noddy24
 
  1  
Reply Sun 25 Mar, 2007 01:33 pm
Oddly enough I recently read John Scalzi's The Android's Dream in which part of the plot hinges on a human/sheep chimera.

This news will have the fundamentalists of all religions counting how many genes of a human soul can dance on the head of a pin.
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