Human/animal embryos

[gettin2dizzy]

Anyone read the Times article about a team at Newcastle Uni that have created an animal/human embryo?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3663033.ece (http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/health/article3663033.ece)
The American comments are barmy but make for a funny read!

I’m in full support of the research :)
This is th beginning of the end for us. This is the reason God destroyed Atlantis. Where do you think the creatures in Greek mythology came from?

William, Pearl City, USA/Hawaii

Please say this is April Fools and not reality, Lord forgive us.....

Jonesy, Big Bear Lake, California, USA

It is now that we hear the death rattle of civilization.

Ring the bells of mourning and death of all that is good in the world.

Omeca, virginia beach, VA, USA

Seems I read in the Bible this exact senario, The End IS near!! You are all fools to play GOD!

JJ, Kalispell, mt

When you play God you anger God! Romans 14:12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

Bill, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

God help us.

edwina , vancleave, ms

Those with religious objections should sign a pledge not to benefit from any discoveries which might result and allow us who believe this is morally proper benefit. I object to some religion being applied to me.

Charles Pooley, Mojave, CA

The gods are going to take revenge for messing with their handiwork.

[SoulKiss]

LOL @ the Septics.....

On another note from the article - its easy to see why the recipient of the London License to do this kind of reserach got into this line.

Well with his name, artificial insemination might be his only change of having a kid.

The other went to a team at King’s College London, led by Professor Stephen Minger.

[gettin2dizzy]

hehe.

We're all doomed! DOOMED!
http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2007/12_02/frazerDM1112_228x374.jpg

[Ed]

The problem here is that the scientists are adamant that it will help research into horrible diseases, but they are very coy about saying how. No explanations offered, at leat none in intelligible language.

Personally I don't much like the idea but then I don't much like marmite, and yet I'm told it's good for me.

[slark01]

Don't give an apeman :-)
can do what they like.

[yorkie_chris]

Don't care what this is for, it's worth doing it to wind the yanks up!


Look in the comments, someone rang nortumbria police and asked if they're going to be prosecuting ... ffs ... he's the one needs doing for wasting police time!

[Kate Moss]

So, the point of mixing animal and human embryos is to help find a cure for diseases? Where did they get the idea in the first place that this may work?? I'm a little confused by it all. I take it im not going to see a cow walking on two legs going about daily human life??!!

[gettin2dizzy]

It's far from creating human/animal hybrids.

"top level" (I hate that terminology - used by bosses to disguise the fact it means 'as simple as possible' ;)) they're using an animal egg, putting human DNA in it and creating human embryos. These human embryos can be used for medical research; especially in to 'stem cell' research. The reason for doing it this way is that human eggs are hard to come by so an animal egg is being used as a host.

It's more willy waving than anything amazingly useful.

[Kate Moss]

Aggghhh i see. Phew, for a minute there I thought id be seeing all kinds of strange things!

[Ed]

It's far from creating human/animal hybrids.

See, Kate didn't know what was going on, either - the scientists simply haven't explained what they're up to, so everyone thinks that we'll be seeing Frankenstein walking down the street. About time they came clean, I think.

[Kate Moss]

See, Kate didn't know what was going on, either - the scientists simply haven't explained what they're up to, so everyone thinks that we'll be seeing Frankenstein walking down the street. About time they came clean, I think.


yes, I am very clever and I didn't understand so it's obviously not very clear! :rolleyes:

[gettin2dizzy]

yes, I am very clever and I didn't understand so it's obviously not very clear! :rolleyes:
Di you read aallll of the article though? :rolleyes:

[MiniMatt]

Genuinely don't want to mock anyone's religion, but was wondering if anyone could inform me, either through research or because they're practicing members, of the Catholic Church's position on a couple of other things thrown up by this?

Animal-human organ transplants? We can and do already make use of heart valves from pigs to treat human defects, and we've had a lot of research, tho limited success in transplanting entire organs from animals to humans to save the life of the affected human. In my mind this results in *far* more of a human/animal hybrid than a couple of cells in a test tube. Is this similarly "monstrous". And if the practice is considered an abomination, what of the result, the human with the pig heart - is that human an abomination in the eyes of the Church, are they no longer human? What happens to them when the reach the pearly gates?

On a similar vein, what of human/machine hybrids. Isn't a "cyborg" every bit as much "playing with God" when we insert pacemakers, titanium bone plates etc?

The sanctity of life, I'm aware of the position that life begins at conception, hence the trouble the Church has with abortion, but what of these human/animal cells? Are they considered to have been "conceived", are they not alive in the eyes of the Church? What I'm asking I guess, is whilst the practice of their creation may be considered an abomination, what of the result - is the resulting collection of cells considered by the Church (and by implication, by the Lord) to be human, animal, or both?

Oh, and thanks for clearing up the whole Atlantis thing, I wondered what had happened to that :D (damn, and there was me saying I wasn't going to mock, I'm sorry, I really am)

[Alpinestarhero]

Im in full support aswell. I envisae a rather large amount of information could be obtained about how DNA replicates, and other information on DNA mis-replication etc which could give more informaiton about cancers, and subsequent cancer treatment.

Matt

[Alpinestarhero]

Of course, there are a large amount of poeple in scientific research who do research just for the sake of research and making themselves look better. There's alot of science that is going on, and has gone on, that isnt really usefull for improving our lives. Maybe our understanding of the world, and some stuff shows lots of novel things...scientific party tricks if you like, but nothing really usefull.

My freind was saying about his final year project that he dosnt know what the compound he is making is for; he asked what it might be for, but his supervisor said "its just a novel compound"

Which is nice, but whats the point?

Matt

[MiniMatt]

I suppose at some point teflon was just a novel compound (compound? erm, polymer based thingy). Knowledge for knowledge sake is a good thing and often (though not always) leads to good things in the future.

That's not to say that we should experiment on anything and everything just for the sake of it, we do need oversight and regulation and ethics. I personally believe that we have those presently, animal testing, human cell testing etc is all very tightly regulated with considerable thought and debate before it is allowed to proceed.

[Ed]

No problem with using animal bits to treat humans but the scientists need to say what they're doing and why, otherwise people always spread conspiracy theories.