Hybrid monkey-human embryos created in Chinese lab raise difficult ethical questions
The groundbreaking work paves the way for more scientific breakthroughs
Macaque embryos were used in the experiment (Image: Juergen Ritterbach/Getty Images)
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Scientists have produced the first ever monkey-human chimeras with human stem cells in a bid to understand more about how cells develop and communicate with each other.
(Photo : Photo: Screenshot from Instagram)
Genetic chimerism, also known as a chimera, is a single organism made up of cells with several genotypes. In species, this refers to an organism originating from two or more zygotes. It might include blood cells of various blood types, minor differences in structure (phenotype), and even the possession of both female and male sex organs if the zygotes were of different sexes.
Ethical Discussion
(Photo : Pixabay)
Many scientists have expressed reservations about the procedure, claiming that although the embryos, in this case, were killed after 20 days, others might attempt to continue the research.
They re asking for a general discussion on the consequences of making chimeras that are part human and part nonhuman.
Scientists injected human stem cells into macaque embryos into a study on human development.
Some of the embryos continued to develop for 20 days, researchers said.
But the experiment has sparked an ethical debate among scientists.
Monkey embryos containing human cells were kept alive for 20 days in an experiment carried out by a US-Chinese team.
The embryos were made by injecting human stem cells into macaque embryos as part of research into early human development, and results were published in the journal Cell. Only some of the embryos survived for 20 days, the research said.
The research team was led by Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte of the Salk Institute, who helped make a mixed-species embryo of a human and a pig in 2017.
Human cells grown in monkey embryos triggers Pandora s box ethical concerns iwradio.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from iwradio.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.