Stem Cell Research †Developing a Cross between Species...

Ethics of Stem Cell Research – Developing a Cross between Species The idea of a chimera, a cross between species, has been around since the mythological creatures of ancient Greece, such as the centaur (a man’s torso with a horses body) and the griffin (the wings, head, and claws of an eagle and the body of a lion). Today, due to our advances in biotechnology, we are seeing this mythology become a reality, but in a different respect. Human-nonhuman animal chimeras are being developed by injecting animal blastocysts with human embryonic stem cells. The cells need to be injected at the right point in development, after the body plan of the animal has formed and before the immune system develops. It is done at this time to avoid†¦show more content†¦The chimeras could also provide more accurate animal models for research. With all the good that may be on the way with the present findings, the ethical issues and potential for abuse of this knowledge is both heavy on the heads of scientists. In the 1998 article by Rick Weiss, the â€Å"human-animal chimera† seems off limits, however the research is now well underway. The article was published in the Washington Post and shows how we have strayed from our original intent: â€Å"In an unusual move applauded by ethicists and government officials, the university association holding patent rights to Thomsons cells said that anyone wishing to work with the cells will have to sign an agreement promising not to use them to clone an individual or to make a human-animal chimera, a seamless cross-species hybrid that could, in theory, be made by injecting human stem cells into a developing embryo of another species.† (Weiss, 1998) Other issues include the possibility of increasing the intelligence of the animal. Determining what human-like attributes the animal will develop is not easy to determine. Cautionary measures should also be made to insure that we do not create a slave-race. Throughout history, humans have always used discriminatory factors to generate a hierarchy, such as race, religion, or nationality. Another issue is that it mayShow MoreRelatedGenetically Modified Organisms And Stem-Food Report1053 Words   |  5 PagesWith reference to a recent news report analyse how genetically modified products are created and evaluate the use of stem cells to combat disease. Genetic modification is the manipulation of DNA in an organism. It involves extracting a gene from one organism then inserting it into another organism that is usually of a different species but can be the same. The genes can also be manufactured instead of being extracted from the organism. 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