Teenage Mujtant Ninja Hybrid Cows

[Diamond Cross]

Plan to create human-cow embryos

By Fergus Walsh
BBC News, Medical correspondent



The Newcastle team is pioneering stem cell work

UK scientists have applied for permission to create embryos by fusing human DNA with cow eggs.
Researchers from Newcastle University and Kings College, London, have asked the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority for a three-year licence.


The hybrid human-bovine embryos would be used for stem cell research and would not be allowed to develop for more than a few days.

But critics say it is unethical and potentially dangerous.
Liberal Democrat MP Dr Evan Harris - a member of the Commons Science and Technology Select Committee - said: "If human benefit can be derived by perfecting therapeutic cloning techniques or from research into subsequently-derived stem cells, then it would actually be immoral to prevent it just because of a 'yuck' factor."
Stem cell research is one of the most promising areas of medical science.
You may begin to undermine the whole distinction between humans animals and humans


Calum MacKellar



Why create chimeras?


Stem cells are the body's master cells and five-day-old embryos are packed with them - each with the potential to turn into any tissue in the body.
It is this ability which scientists want to harness to treat diseases such as Parkinson's Disease, strokes and Alzheimer's Disease.
To do that, they say they need to have access to thousands of embryos for research.

Short supply

The problem is that human eggs for research are in short supply and to obtain them women have to undergo surgery.

That is why scientists want to use cows' eggs as a substitute.

They would insert human DNA into a cow's egg which has had its genetic material removed, and then create an embryo by the same technique that produced Dolly the Sheep.

The resulting embryo would be 99.9% human; the only bovine element would be DNA outside the nucleus of the cell.

It would, though, technically be a chimera - a mixing of two distinct species into one.
The aim would be to extract stem cells from the embryo when it is six days old, before destroying it.
If human benefit can be derived by perfecting therapeutic cloning techniques or from research into subsequently-derived stem cells, then it would actually be immoral to prevent it just because of a 'yuck' factor


Dr Evan Harris


The quality and the viability of stem cells would then be checked to see if the technique had worked.
The scientists also plan to examine the way the cells are reprogrammed after fusion to see if there are useful processes they could replicate in the laboratory.

Lead researcher Dr Lyle
Armstrong said: "If we can learn from the egg cell how to make embryonic stem cells without having to use an animal egg at all then some day we may be able to cure diseases such as Parkinson's disease, or better still some of the age-related diseases which are creating such a burden on society."
Dr Stephen Minger, from King's College London, said: "The current state of the technology is such that literally hundreds of human ooctyes (eggs) from young women will be required to generate a single human embryonic stem cell line.

"Therefore we consider it more appropriate to use non-human oocytes from livestock as a surrogate.

"We feel that the development of disease-specific human embryonic stem cell lines from individuals suffering from genetic forms of neurodegenerative disorders will stimulate both basic research and the development of new medicines to treat these horrific brain diseases."
'Undermining humanity' Professor Robin Lovell-Badge, head of developmental genetics, National Institute for Medical Research, said: "This is a very rational step: to learn what you can using animal eggs, which are readily obtainable, before moving on to valuable human eggs when or if this becomes necessary."

The ful article here:

BBC NEWS | Health | Plan to create human-cow embryos

[Dumpy Dooby]

Does this mean we can get chicks with four tits?!

NWS: http://tonyskansascity.com/tonyskans...threeboobs.jpg

[AVengeance]

I don't see any reason to do this. We already have fat people.

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by AVengeance

I don't see any reason to do this. We already have fat people.

What on earth are you talking about? No-one is making cow-people

[AVengeance]

Originally Posted by Kytro

What on earth are you talking about? No-one is making cow-people

It was a joke, based on the play of words, calling someone, usually an obese female, a "fat cow".

I see I missed my mark.

I think I see what they're doing, but I still don't see WHY. Why do they need to use cow eggs? Since the DNA is human, does that mean the blastocyst is human? Or would you still be able to call it a "cow egg"?

Again, it doesn't make sense, except in that way when I was a kid that I mixed a bunch of chemicals together in my chemistry set "just to see what would happen". Nothing exciting happened, and I didn't cure cancer, either. I think these scientists are doing this just to see what will happen. If it's successful (the "thing grows long enough to extract stem cells) they'll pat themselves on the back, and then they have a nice workaround in the cloning laws.

Bovine Sapien superwarriors!

[Kytro]

Originally Posted by AVengeance

It was a joke, based on the play of words, calling someone, usually an obese female, a "fat cow".

Dammit, I was going to go 50/50 if you were serious or not.

Originally Posted by AVengeance

I think I see what they're doing, but I still don't see WHY. Why do they need to use cow eggs? Since the DNA is human, does that mean the blastocyst is human? Or would you still be able to call it a "cow egg"?

It is "mostly human" there is some cow DNA involved. One of the main reasons, as stated is it's easier to get hold of the cow eggs.

Originally Posted by AVengeance

Again, it doesn't make sense, except in that way when I was a kid that I mixed a bunch of chemicals together in my chemistry set "just to see what would happen". Nothing exciting happened, and I didn't cure cancer, either. I think these scientists are doing this just to see what will happen.

More than that - they have a specific goal. To get stem cells.

Originally Posted by AVengeance

If it's successful (the "thing grows long enough to extract stem cells) they'll pat themselves on the back, and then they have a nice workaround in the cloning laws.

I would suspect that is part of it, but it's not like they would be making "cloned people".

Bovine Sapien superwarriors![/quote]

[nbiggershaft]

poor man's envitro anyone?