Another thing about stem cells - this one is weird -
Scientists create animals that are part-human
The article is about the mixing of animal and human cells - like growing human livers, etc. inside of sheep so they can be harvested and used to save human lives.
This was the part that interested me most...
Mice with human brains
In January, an informal ethics committee at Stanford University endorsed a proposal to create mice with brains nearly completely made of human brain cells. Stem cell scientist Irving Weissman said his experiment could provide unparalleled insight into how the human brain develops and how degenerative brain diseases like Parkinson’s progress.
Stanford law professor Hank Greely, who chaired the ethics committee, said the board was satisfied that the size and shape of the mouse brain would prevent the human cells from creating any traits of humanity. Just in case, Greely said, the committee recommended closely monitoring the mice’s behavior and immediately killing any that display human-like behavior.
Wow. Does anyone else have a hard time figuring out whether we're headed into what used to be sci-fi, or going back into the swirling mists of magical possibilities?
And now, on a somewhat more lighthearted note,
Posted by tuggy at 05.25.05 10:45 | TrackBackThe part that disturbs me the most is the idea of "immediately killing any that display human-like behaviour." So suddenly this "person" comes to consciousness and realizes, "Hey, I think I have the body of a mouse. That's odd." And then this conscious being is killed. In comparison, the scope of normal human life doesn't seem so sucky.
Posted by: Shaw at 05.25.05 11:16Reminds me of Douglas Adams' whale that had to, nearly simultaneously, come to terms both with being and not being...
Posted by: funkefreak at 05.25.05 15:05