Animal-Human Hybrid Embryos a Reality

By Terry Vanderheyden LONDON, August 9, 2006

LifeSiteNews.com – UK scientists are calling for a ban on some forms of experimentation, including the creation of animal-human hybrid “chimeras”.The Scottish Council on Human Bioethics called for a ban on the grisly “science” in a report released Tuesday. According to the scotsman.com, council director Dr. Calum MacKellar said that “Most people are not aware that these kinds of experiments have been taking place in the UK and find it deeply offensive.”“The fertilisation of animal eggs with human sperm should not continue to be legal in the UK for research purposes,” he added. “Parliament should follow France and Germany and prohibit the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos.”It is not, however, only in the U.K. that such experiments are being conducted. Last month the Indian Express reported that California’s Salk Institute biologist Fred Gage already has mice containing within their brains “living human neurons that help them to see, hear and think.” Gage has created the human-mouse hybrids ostensibly to help him understand motor neuron diseases like Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.Irving Weissman, director of Stanford’s Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine has also created mice with brains made up of as much as one percent human neurons. His goal is to create a mouse with a brain made entirely of human cells.