Human/Cow Cloned Embryos Coming?
First UK scientists wanted to create human/rabbit cloned embryos. Now, UK scientists are applying to create mostly human/tiny bit cow cloned embryos, revealing vividly the current anything goes mindset that permeates the science/biotech sector. Rather than allowing society to work through the ethics of these issues, rather than help society do this by providing accurate, frank, and candid information, political-scientists obfuscate as their colleagues press the pedal to the metal in their experiments. At some point, their hubris will create a very bad backlash. When and if that happens, they will be the ones who acted "anti-science" by making it appear as if the science sector wants to dominate society rather than serve it.
By the way, for you Missouri voters, this is caused by the human egg dearth. Since these scientists can't get enough human cells, and since they admit it will take hundreds of eggs to produce one cloned embryonic stem cell line (if that few and if it can be done at all), realize that nothing in Amendment 2 would prevent researchers from trying the same thing in the Show Me State when and if MO scientists experience their own egg dearth.
posted by Wesley J. Smith @ 5:34 PM
6 Comments
6 Comments:
Though we may not like to contemplate the mixing of human and non-human genes, some day we may have to confront the reality of a human-chimp hybrid. Would such a being have intrinsic value, or would she be essentially something for us to use (say, as a slave or as a laboratory test subject)?
The answer I think would depend on what we consider to the nature of mankind, or what separates us from animals.
Hybrids of mixing DNA between species has occurred a long time in nature. For instance, human DNA mixes with viral DNA all the time. But that does not create outwardly noticeable traits beyond such inconveniences as cold sores. Rather, we consider the virus a pest. But we cannot deny it is a natural form of cellular chimeras.
Nonsense, Royale.
Just like the sophistry of saying an embryo is like sloughed off skin cells.
Take a boy skin cell and a girl hair cell and what do you get?
Yeah, take that to the research lab and get back to me.
But take a embryonic cell and insert new horse and bird DNA and say hello to Pegasus.
Meanwhile, see if you can enroll your cold sore in day care.
Maybe current "science" does have a bad effect on morals afterall.
All of this demonstrates that scientists need to slow down so we can work these ethical and moral issues out.
Robert B,
You missed my point. I specifically stated that the mixing of viral DNA with human DNA does not create outwardly noticeable traits beyond cold sores. Yes, there is a huge difference between cold sores and a cloning, but I was responding to the prior post which discussed the mixing of human and non-human genes.
But the fact remains, if we want remain "a pure species" on an organismal level and not procede with cloning, then we should be honest with our rationale, that mixing species on an organismal level (i.e., the result of cloning) is bad for some other reason and not because DNA is mixing at cellular level, because interspecial mixing of DNA does occur in nature.
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