The debate on chimera research continues

Should NIH Fund Chimera (Human-Animal) research?

The debates continue as NIH seeks to lift its one-year moratorium on funding Chimera research.

While there are many benefits especially on drug testing on chimeras, there are many ethical issues.

The Hastings Center listed some

We contend that the NIH’s position on the necessity of human-nonhuman chimera research is unlikely to withstand scrutiny because it sidesteps several crucial issues. First, there might be viable alternatives to the creation of chimeras for the advancement of scientific and medical knowledge. Second, there are epistemic problems with the knowledge produced via chimera-based research, especially if the research addresses behavior and psychology, because it is unclear how relevant this research would be to humans. Third, there are likely better ways to address some of the problems under consideration (e.g., organ shortages) by nonmedical means (e.g., legal reform, education, political strategizing). Finally, we question whether the NIH has sufficiently considered the possibility that some types of scientific investigationshouldn’t be done at all because of the severity of the harms to the research subjects (e.g., arguably, Harry Harlow’s deprivation experiments).

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http://www.thehastingscenter.org/challenges-nih-policy-human-animal-chimera-research/

Human-Animals Hybrid Embryos

According to an article in the Herald Sun dated 26 July 2011

UK SCIENTISTS have created more than 150 human-animal hybrid embryos in British laboratories.

The hybrids have been produced in secret over the past three years by researchers looking into possible cures for a wide range of diseases...

Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 "admixed" embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act. This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; "cybrids", in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and "chimeras", in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.

Scientists say the techniques can be used to develop embryonic stem cells which can be used to treat a range of incurable illnesses. Three labs in the UK – at King’s College London, Newcastle University and Warwick University – were granted licences to carry out the research after the Act came into force.

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I have been struggling with the issue of chimera research for some time. It is difficult to perceive adding human genetic materials to that of animal genetic materials to create a totally new form of life. While is is easy to accept that chimera stem cells are destroyed prior to 14 days as the law required, it is hard to accept adding human stem cells to a chimpanzee brain or chimpanzee cells to a human brain.Where does one draw the line?
Worse case senerio - a baby is the product of fertilisation of a human ovum by a chimpanzee male genetic material and implanted in a human womb and brought to term. Is this baby human?
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