'Human-animal' Embryo Green Light

by Sad emo 5 Replies latest social current

  • Sad emo
    Sad emo

    Just putting this 'out there' to see what folks think. Is it a step too far as some groups believe, or do the potential benefits outweigh any perceived moral issues?

    http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/6978384.stm

    Regulators have agreed in principle to allow human-animal embryos to be created and used for research.

    But scientists wanting to use hybrids will still need to make individual applications, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority said.

    An HFEA consultation showed the public were "at ease" with the idea when told it could pave the way for therapies for conditions such as Alzheimer's disease.

    Opponents have said many people would be "horrified" by such a move.

    Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells. The embryos would then be destroyed within 14 days.

    The cells form the basic building blocks of the body and have the potential to become any tissue, making them essential for research.

    At the moment, scientists have to rely on human eggs left over from fertility treatment, but they are in short supply and are not always good quality.

    Two teams from Kings College London and Newcastle University have already applied to the HFEA to use hybrid embryos.

    It is now expected individual hearings for these two applications will be held in November with other scientists expected to follow suit.

  • Gopher
    Gopher

    This sounds a bit scary. A LOT of education of the public needs to be done before they'd even start to accept such an idea.

    Here's the goal:

    Scientists want to create hybrid embryos by merging human cells with animal eggs in a bid to extract stem cells.

    I'm not a scientist, so the below is only my current estimation. I'm willing to be corrected / educated on this issue.

    So the need is STEM CELLS, and they're in short supply because the anti-abortion groups have swayed the politicians away from allowing the use of unusued human embryos for stem cell research and development. Maybe if we could use the available unused human embryos to develop more stem cell lines, the supply problem would be taken care of , and science wouldn't have to look to hybrid embryos for more raw material.

  • Sad emo
    Sad emo

    I kind of agree with your view Gopher. In the UK, scientists can use embryos left from fertility treatment but not as far as I know, aborted foetuses.

    If they were able to use stem cells from aborted foetuses (I don't know if they are actually suitable or not), they might not need to go down this route. Also, for those who believe that life begins at conception, it could be said that at least that life was not entirely wasted. I know there's more to it than this but just keeping it short.

    I don't believe that the scientists will stop at this either. It may be a few years away, but I suspect they will push the next boundary and try to create hybrids. They said they weren't going to make cloned animals - but they have done...

  • AWAKE&WATCHING
    AWAKE&WATCHING

    This freaks me out.

  • JeffT
    JeffT

    My father works in the field. I'll ask him what he thinks, if I remember but a couple of things immediately stand out.

    1) I don't think this will work, although there's a good chance I'll be proven wrong. Weirder things have happened.

    2) There is no shortage of stem cells, or sources of stem cells. The only thing that is happening is that the federal government is not funding the harvesting. Private groups and the state of California are funding research.

    3) For a good sci-fi look at where this might lead, I recommend "Friday" by Robert A. Heinlein.

  • jschwehm
    jschwehm

    Hi All:

    I find this quite troubling for a variety or reasons and the main one being that the only cures that are being done with stem cells are adult stem cells. Embryonic stem cells are extremely difficult to control and are not even near being available to cure anything. In addition, I think the main reason that embryonic stem cells are being pushed on us is because there is more money to be made by patenting embryonic stem cells for cures that using adult stem cells which would belong to the patient already and therefore the pharmaceutical companies would have a more difficult time patenting.

    The book at the following link does an extremely good job and discussing the economics and politics behind the stem cell debates and it really is quite scary in my opinion. Here is the link:

    http://www.amazon.com/Consumers-Guide-Brave-New-World/dp/1893554996/ref=sr_1_1/105-5034543-7194000?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1189282201&sr=8-1

    Also some of you may find the following website helpful as well:

    http://www.stemcellresearch.org/

    Jeff S.

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