Part human, part monkey: Scientists engineer hybrid embryo in effort to grow organs By Chris Williams A team of international scientists have created a part-human part-monkey embryo in China. You may be wondering why scientists would create a part-human part-monkey embryo — and you’re not alone. An international team of scientists said they created hybrid embryos, or chimeras, to see if they could grow organs for people who need transplants. They published their findings in the medical journal, Cell. The group assembled in China and injected 25 induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS, from humans into embryos from macaque monkeys. According to the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, iPS are skin and blood cells that have been taken and reprogrammed to develop into any type of human cell needed for medical purposes. The cells can then be used to treat a variety of health issues including diabetes, leukemia or neurological disorders.