Al Gore was right! Manbearpig exists, or he very well could with all of the cross-species mixing going on in laboratories today. Manbearpig for those who don't know is a mythical creature from the show "South Park" who is half man, half bear, and half pig. The video below explains.
Zoologists have been interbreeding species for a long time. The first liger was bred in 1824 according to liger.org . Now scientists are crossing species separated a bit farther by evolution like a mouse and a human, a mouman if you will. South Koreans mixed together a mouse embryo with human stem cells and Americans unable to use fetal stem cells mixed specific tissues of a human with a mouse such as a mouse with human neurons. This research is not about what crazy chimeras we can make, it gives good insights into how stem cells differentiate. This can help scientists figure out how new ways stem cells can be used to repair tissues and cure diseases. It is all very important and highly ethically debated research, but I still wish they would make one manbearpig just for the fun of it. If you would like to know more here is a great article by the US News and World Report.
Now when you say "mixed" a mouse and human embryo, what exactly does this entail?
ReplyDeleteSorry I misspoke I did not mean to say a mouse and human embryo. The actual experiment involved the mixing of a mouse blastocyst, a very early embryo, with a fluorescing human stem cell. They then put the embryo back into a mouse host to finish development. After the birth they checked for tissues containing fluorescing cells which included the heart, bones, kidney, and liver.
ReplyDeleteI have made the proper corrections in the post. Thank you Dan for bringing this to my attention.
ReplyDeleteAren't many of these "creations" not very stable? Like they wouldn't be able to live actively or they would have a very short life span?
ReplyDeleteMost bred chimeras like ligers and mules do have some common health problems or are at least sterile. The man made chimeras can reproduce and I can not find anything on common health problems.
ReplyDeleteHave you read Margaret Atwood's "Oryx and Crake"? It's a sci-fi novel about a world where chimeras run wild. Pretty eerie. More on this is welcome, though, as I thought the same thing as Michelle. Again, helping us understand the difference between what is happening experimentally and what actually appears in the world as application would be helpful.
ReplyDelete