TERRIFYING: Real life Dr. Moreau, hard at work developing human-animal hybrids

Ethical problems abound as scientists grow human organs in pigs.

A real life Dr. Moreau is hard at work, trying to create animals that grow organs for humans that can be transplanted without any danger of rejection. His work mixes human and animal genes, giving rise to a host of ethical concerns.

LOS ANGELES, CA (California Network) - H.G. Wells warned us about the dangers of mixing species to create something new. In The Island of Doctor Moreau, a mad doctor practices vivisection, grafting parts of animals and people together to create hybrid species. Like all such stories, the creations of this doctor are unpredictable and dangerous and disaster ensues.

Wells' warning is clear. Humans should not attempt to play God by crossing humans with animals. Today, such creations are possible in the lab, and they are called "chimeras." And, they are being created on a routine basis for scientific study.

One scientist, Pablo Ross, is working at the University of California, Davis and he uses gene editing, an electron microscope, and even a laser to delete the genes pigs need to create a pancreas. Then he inserts a human stem cell that can become a human pancreas. The embryo is implanted in a sow for 28 days, then removed for dissection. Ross studies the pancreases to determine if he can develop a fully functional human organ that can be harvested and transplanted when needed.

There's concerns. Stem cells can also travel through an animal's body and settle elsewhere. If a human stem cell travels to the pig's brain, it could settle there and the pig could develop a human brain. What happens next is anyone's guess. The embryo might not survive, or it could and we could see a pig with the intellect of a human.

The horror stories write themselves. In the series Oryx and Crake by Margeret Atwood, pigs crossed with human take to the wild and become vicious, intelligent killers. Could such a thing happen with these chimeras we're mass producing in the laboratory?

So far, none are allowed to survive past a few weeks, but eventually the researchers will want to go farther.  It's important that we progress informed by our knowledge of the natural law and ethics.

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'

Copyright 2021 - Distributed by Catholic Online