With British regulators recently giving the go-ahead for research on human-animal hybrid embryos towards replacement organ cloning and research into things like Parkinsons, Alzheimers and the like, this is no longer a sci-fi question. How do you feel about it?
In the longer term, the idea of biological uplift (genetically engineering animals to have intelligence and consciousness at human levels) or full-blown human-animal hybrids are also becoming important. What are your thoughts, and should such individuals be created, what kind of rights, if any should they have?
2007-09-06 08:55:40 · 19 answers · asked by dead_elves 3 in Society & Culture ➔ Religion & Spirituality
Some resources, as requested:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14191423
http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/health.cfm?id=1395722007
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/01/neggs301.xml
http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=53353
2007-09-06 09:18:08 · update #1
My diabetic wife is currently alive because of the human insulin that was made by millions of E.coli that were modified genetically to produce it. These bacteria were killed to extract the insulin. I do not remember anyone throwing a fit when this started.
There are other avenues that could have given better results (stem cell research, for example). What is becoming legal is not what is ethical, but what is profitable and controllable. The wealthy want to live longer. Organ banks are not enough, they want to be sure that they have compatible tissue.
The masses will be told enough to fool us into believing that we might eventually get some medical benefit, but it is the 70 years old billionaires who are funding this, not the 5 year old with liver problems.
As a species, humans do not take care of the current humans on the planet without worrying about hybrids. We are not an ethical species. We do not honor the rights of the Pure Blood Humans (so to speak). Why do you think this would change for hybrids (who will be considered less than human by most)?
2007-09-06 11:16:45 · answer #1 · answered by Richard 7 · 11⤊ 0⤋
Ask people with Alzheimers or Parkinsons or some other degenerative deseas I,m sure they would be elated and personally i agree, if we dont use animals for anything else we'll only eat them.
Imagine in about a thousand years, possibly less, that these human-animal hybrids exsisted and walked among us as equals. Wasnt that long ago people thought the world was flat and you would have burned at the stake if you said man would one day fly
2007-09-06 16:14:27 · answer #2 · answered by smallville 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'd be very worried about it once it is possible to really bring them to term and raise them. I don't think we could successfully avoid it happening. There's always the "mad scientist" syndrome, and a mad dictator who wants human/gorilla soldiers (like Sauroman and his Urak Hai). I'm beginning to be glad I'm old enough that I probably won't live to see it.
But then, I also recall the "clone wars" in the Star Wars series. Fact is, once we talk about seriously messing around with human experiments, I get chills like "The Boys From Brazil" and the Nazi experiments.
I can't even begin to contemplate rights for such entities: I'm still in the horrors about the soldier aspect.
2007-09-06 17:46:07 · answer #3 · answered by auntb93 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know... Depends on how well they can recreate human emotions. If they don't have any feelings, then their still just animals and don't deserve any rights. Also, are you sure that they're actually doing this? That it's not just some practical joke or you read something wrong? Give me a website or the name of the article where you got this. I'd like to look into it.
2007-09-06 16:01:41 · answer #4 · answered by rlsejhm 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is important to understand that we are talking about lumps of a few cells in a pretri dish here. It is not as if they are creating full grown beastmen in the lab.
I have a hard time understanding any ethical concerns caused by splicing together a few genes from different species when the end result is discovery of the basic techniques necessary to being able to grow someone a badly needed replacement organ.
Besides, even if they were able to grow them to maturity, what's the big problem? We need good civil servants.
2007-09-06 16:04:40 · answer #5 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 1⤋
well, my first thought was of Douglas Adam's story, the restaurant at the end of the universe, and the genetically engineered cow that actually wanted to be eaten and how repulsive the idea is
As long as there is no pain involved to the animals, I think it's worth it for disease treatment, as long as the scientists can be fairly certain we're not going to bring on some disaster to the human race or something like that.
2007-09-06 16:00:36 · answer #6 · answered by Daniel 6 · 1⤊ 0⤋
You're lagging behind in the science. Think about the animal / machine hybrid. They are already in existance and don't need to be created. Should they have rights? What kind?
2007-09-06 16:00:43 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
Not sure whether I'd class it as ethical - it makes me very uncomfortable.
I know that there are so many benefits that we could gain through this type of research, but I have a problem with using other species for our own gain.
An atheist
2007-09-06 16:24:50 · answer #8 · answered by Grotty Bodkin is not dead!!! 5 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I do research in which I regularly take human cells and stick in some DNA that contains genes from bacteria, viruses, rats, insects and jelyfish. It doesn't seem like a big deal to me.
2007-09-06 16:11:13 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 2⤊ 0⤋
Totally unethical.
For those of you who say it is only a few cells I say, not in China:
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8IB1R9G0&show_article=1
Next step, the mutation of living humans using a hybrid developed DNA modifying virus.
2007-09-06 16:14:58 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋