World’s first ever human-monkey hybrid grown in lab in China
World’s first ever human-monkey hybrid grown in lab in
China
A HUMAN-MONKEY hybrid has been grown in a lab in China in
a world first scientific breakthrough.
By Henry Holloway 1st August 2019
Scientists have successfully formed a hybrid human-monkey
embryo – with the experiment taking place in China to avoid “legal issues”.
Researchers led by scientist Juan Carlos Izpisúa spliced
together the genes to grow a monkey with human cells.
It is said the creature could have grown and been born,
but scientists aborted the process.
The team, made up of members of the Salk Institute in the
United States and the Murcia Catholic University, genetically modified the
monkey embryos.
Researchers deactivates the genes which form organs, and
replaced them with human stem cells.
And it is hoped that one day these hybrid-grown organs
will be able to be translated into humans.
Project collaborator Estrella Núñez hailed the experiment
as “very promising”.
The team have not yet published their findings, but
confirmed the hybrid to EL PAIS.
“We are now trying not only to move forward and continue
experimenting with human cells and rodent and pig cells, but also with
non-human primates,” Izpisúa said.
The scientist, from Spain, was responsible for creating
the first human pig hybrid in 2017.
Human embryo
Izpisúa however said his human-monkeys are much better
than his human-pigs.
Team member Pablo Ross said: “The human cells did not
take hold. We saw that they contributed very little [to the development of the
embryo].
“It was only one human cell for every 100,000 pig cells.”
The scientists have also experimented with creating human
birds with rats and mice, with the hope to developing transplantable hearts,
eyes and pancreases.
Cell editing
Doctor Ángel Raya, the director of the Barcelona
Regenerative Medicine Center, admitted the hybrid experiments do have “ethical
barriers”.
He said: “What happens if the stem cells escape and form
human neurons in the brain of the animal?
“Would it have consciousness? And what happens if these
stem cells turn into sperm cells?”
Núñez has said however if any of the stem cells begin to
form a human brain, they will “self destruct”.
Lab
Raya added that the embryos have a “red line” at 14 days
of gestation.
This means that the embryo cannot develop a human central
nervous system.
Scientists then destroys the embryos, and “in no case is
the gestation brought to full term”.
The experiments cost “hundreds of thousands of euros”,
Núñez added.
Núñez downplayed the fact that the university behind the
research has a “catholic” moniker.
She said: “We are doing the experiments with monkeys in
China because, in principle, they cannot be done [in Spain].
“What we want is to make progress for the sake of people
who have a disease.
“The ultimate goal would be to create a human organ that
could be transplanted.”
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