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Human-Animal Hybrids Fail

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Study questions usefulness of animal-human embryos

It may be futile to try producing stem cells by putting human DNA into cow or rabbit eggs and making hybrid cloned embryos, a strategy that triggered controversy recently in Britain, a new study says. The animal eggs don't reprogram human DNA in the right way to generate stem cells, researchers report.

"Instead of turning on the right genes, it turns out the animal eggs actually turn them off," said senior study author Dr. Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass.

Another scientist disputed that conclusion.

The idea of using animal-human "hybrid" embryos drew fire last year in Britain as authorities pondered whether to let scientists try it. Opponents objected to mixing human and animal material and worried that such research could lead to genetically modified babies...

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6 comments

#1

sbf (not verified) Tue, 3 Feb 2009 - 20:03

You

"Instead of turning on the right genes, it turns out the animal eggs actually turn them off," said senior study author Dr. Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology in Worcester, Mass.

Shouldn't they have expected that?

#2

You Tue, 3 Feb 2009 - 20:06

No idea, but the idea to grow "actors" to fulfil roles such as minotoaurs or other half half beast creatures must have taken a step back.

#3

sbf (not verified) Tue, 3 Feb 2009 - 20:11

Why would people want to do that? Because they can? Is that enough reason?
I hope something like this never comes successful. No offence to the person whos behind it and is reading this.

#5

sbf (not verified) Tue, 3 Feb 2009 - 20:22

Yep, its a really debateable and interesting topic.
I think clones would have a soul. of course they would. They were made by egg and sperm cell too. But are you talking in a more religious sense? If clones didnt have a soul, would it be right to use them for stem cells?

A hybrid human-animal cell, having a soul? hmmm,, i think youl have to wait until someone becomes successful with that first. How many problems would there be if one was created? I dont understand what the positive side to creating one is?

#6

s.b.f Tue, 3 Feb 2009 - 20:36

Animal Eggs Not Suitable Substitutes To Produce Stem Cells, Study Demonstrates

Since the cloning of Dolly the Sheep over a decade ago, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) has been considered a promising way to generate human, patient-specific stem cells for therapeutic applications. The shortage of human donor eggs has led to efforts to substitute animal oocytes.
.....

Although previous reports have documented the formation of cloned embryos using both human and animal eggs, to date, there have been no data indicating to what extent the donor human DNA was reprogrammed. Lanza et al. show for the first time that human oocytes have the capacity to change these patterns of gene expression, and that interspecies (human-to-animal) cloning does not produce the same results. Although the human-bovine and human-rabbit clones looked similar to the human-human embryos, the human-animal hybrids did not exhibit the changes in gene expression seen in the human-human clones and normal embryos. Specifically, they did not achieve up-regulation of critical pluripotency-associated genes needed for stem cell production.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/02/090202175055.htm

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