Chimera biology1/11/2024 ![]() In order to understand why the NIH has changed its policies on human-animal chimera research over time, it’s important to understand why scientists study these organisms in the first place.Ī great deal of experiments in biology are conducted on non-human animals, from fish to monkeys. The NIH also has proposed to widen the scope of research it supports in this area, though it’s unclear when a final rule will be put in place. The NIH has funded some research on human-animal chimeras and scientists can obtain funding from non-public sources, which they have. But it wasn’t a complete ban to begin with. The first line of text in the Futurism video says “a ban on human/animal genetic hybrids was just lifted.” This left our reader confused. The headlines of both the Nature and NPR articles state that the NIH had plans to lift a funding “ban” on human-animal chimeras, but it hadn’t yet done so. He also forwarded us three sources of conflicting information: a video posted to Facebook in June by the science news outlet Futurism and articles published in the journal Nature and on NPR’s website in August 2016. ![]() One of our readers sent us a question about yet another kind of chimera - one made up of cells from humans and another species - asking whether the “ban” on these organisms has been lifted. In both cases, a single organism is composed of cells that contain different genes. People also can be born chimeras if two fertilized eggs fuse in early development. But there are exceptions.įor example, a once-pregnant woman could be considered a chimera because she can carry her baby’s cells in her body for years, if not for the rest of her life. ![]() Within science, the term applies to a much less fantastical organism.Īccording to the Merriam-Webster Medical Dictionary, created in collaboration with the NIH, a “ chimera” is “an individual, organ, or part containing tissue with two or more genetically distinct populations of cells.” Normally, all the cells in an organism’s body contain the same genes. In Greek mythology, a “ chimera” is a fire-breathing creature that’s part-lion, part-goat and part-snake. I’ve been seeing some news online about the ban on the development of animal/human DNA hybrids has been lifted. But the agency has proposed a rule to widen the scope of research it funds in this area. Q:Does the National Institutes of Health fund research on human-animal chimeras, or organisms that are part-human, part-other animal?Ī:With some exceptions, the NIH doesn’t fund research on human-animal chimeras.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |