One step closer http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1323694/cowhuman_hybrid_survives_for_three_days/
What exactly is disturbing about this? After all, humans and other mammals are highly similar genetically.
um... humans are not suppose to intertwined with other mammals, it is just sick. Matter of fact, excuse me while I go barf.
Well I'm sorry you have to endure a wittle tummy ache for scientific progress that may one day save peoples' lives.
It's more of a question of where you draw the line. I think most people agree that the principle of respect for human life is necessary in preventing all sorts of atrocities. People differ on the issue of how much is allowable before those principles are lost.
man cow disease??? creepy...us humans have enough viruses as it is we dont need stupid cow viruses too.
The line is already drawn way past this point. Embryonic stem cell research is widely popular. Also, this type of research seems to be a better alternative to traditional stem cell research in that it doesn't employ human ova (see quote below). Assuming you have evidence for this claim (do you?), the research described in the OP seems to suggest that it's the other way around:
Do you know if what you bolded applies to infectious diseases? Select House of Lords-Committee on Science and Technology Fifth Report Mixing animal and human material ANIMAL EGGS AS A REPLACEMENT FOR HUMAN EGGS 52. We have received submissions which suggest a number of risks potentially associated with work involving the mixing of human and animal material. The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics (SCHB) believes that by undertaking such work, scientists risk creating new diseases. They told us that it is "well known that many animals may harbour in their organs, cells and genome, microbiological and other entities which may cross the species barrier and develop in the host",[116] for example, Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. This view is supported by Christian Action Research and Education (CARE) who wrote of the "real risk of disease transmission from viruses crossing the species barrier and developing in the host".[117]
The point is this development constitutes a breakthrough for the potential use of stem cell therapy to treat disease. There is a strong body of evidence supporting this line of research. On the other hand, you have yet to provide any evidence that using non-human eggs to produce stem cells for research opens up the possibility of new viruses in humans.
This is what I get for not checking my copy pasta. Fixed the quote. It's highly doubful that these types of chimeric cells will be used to treat diseases directly. At best, they are imperfect models with unpredictable outcomes. 53. The SCHB has also claimed that human-animal chimera or hybrid embryos may be subject to a greater number of developmental problems,[118] presumably limiting their effectiveness as models in research. A similar view was expressed by Peter McCullagh, an Australian expert, who believes that data produced from human-animal chimera or hybrid embryos will be of little use. Mr McCullagh explained that, given the complete lack of knowledge of how the development and function of the human/animal entity will resemble that of either contributing species, "the experimental data will predictably be quite uninterpretable" and that "the potential of an experiment, in any discipline, to add to the sum of knowledge is only as good as its capacity for interpretation".[119]
Mad Cow (BSE) is a prion. And it was found in humans before cattle as Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease. It was discovered in humans more than a hundred years ago in native tribes in Asia/Oceania that ritualistically eat the brains of the dead.
wow.. this is scary if they can prove that it will work... I better remember to bring condoms next time I go to the barn...
