Genetics and the Human Animal

...as if we did not do enough damage to the insides of our children, we are inventing a way to make them more discontented with their bodies. This is NOT what the Creator intended, I think!

Gene-manipulation is wonderful thing to help with illnesses, but a dreadful thing as soon as human vanity gets involved ...

Makes me wonder if there should not be a panel of arbitors to oversee what is being contemplated...but they are subject to greed just as their scientific counterparts are. Divine intervention? There MUST be some limits put on things like this, lest vanity take over and we create the monster who will eventually kill the creator.

I'm sure the appropriate laws will be created - and then violated.

In my country they are already being discussed - not that we will clone anything in the present millenium!

I am sure it is not only being conducted sub rosa but the profits are being laundered as we speak somewhere in this greed-driven world. America, for all its purtianism, is not above any of that ugly business.

A side-effect of capitalism.

...or testosterone poisoning..or both!

from msn news: PPL THERAPEUTICS, which cloned Dolly three years ago, said today that five healthy piglets were born March 5 in Blacksburg, Va. They were cloned from an adult sow using a slightly different technique than the one that produced Dolly. Independent tests of the DNA of the piglets � named Millie, Christa, Alexis, Carrel and Dotcom � confirmed they were clones of the sow, the company said. Scientists have been studying pigs for several years as potential organ donors for people. The cloning might hold out hope that pigs could be genetically engineered so that their organs or cells would be more readily accepted by the human body, making them more easily transplantable. �I think this is a big step forward they�ve made. I applaud it,� said Dr. Fritz Bach of Harvard Medical School, who studies genetic and immunological aspects of transplants from animals to people. Genetic engineering is one potential benefit, Bach said. In addition, scientists could simply clone pigs that prove exceptionally well-suited for transplants to humans, he said. But Bach stressed that ethical issues about animal-to-human transplants, mainly the risk of introducing new germs to humans, must be solved before such procedures are done. Imutran, a Cambridge, England-based company that is pursuing similar research, called PPL�s announcement �interesting news.� �It is potentially a useful technology to develop new lines of pigs for (transplant),� the company said. �However, the next step is to see if the technology can be applied to developing genetically modified animals whose organs can be transplanted into humans without being rejected.� PPL, based in Edinburgh, Scotland, said transplantation of genetically altered pig organs could be tested on humans in four years and that analysts believe the market for them could be worth $6 billion. PPL scientists plan to try to �knock out� a gene responsible for incorporating in pig cells a sugar group recognized by the human immune system as foreign. The gene triggers an immune response in the human body, prompting it to reject the organ. Three new genes would then be introduced into the pig cells, and the transplant patient would receive a blood transfusion containing modified cells taken from the pig supplying the organ. Scientists hope this process will reduce long-term rejection of the transplanted organ. �All the known technical hurdles have been overcome,� said Ron James, PPL�s managing director. �It is now a case of combining the various strategies into one male and one female pig and breeding from these.� The idea of using animal organs for transplant, known as xenotransplantation, is controversial because some believe diseases could cross from pigs to humans. But scientists are excited by the prospect of using animal organs for transplant because of the shortage of human organs. Many people die while waiting for a transplant, and experts hope that pigs will be able to provide a steady supply of organs. �An end to the chronic organ shortage is now in sight,� James said. The names of the first cloned piglets each have their own significance. Millie was named for the millennium. Christa, Alexis and Carrel were named after Dr. Christiaan Barnard, who performed the first human heart transplant, and Dr. Alexis Carrel, who won the Nobel prize in 1912 for his work in the field of transplantation. And as for Dotcom ... �Any association with dotcoms right now seems to have a very positive influence on a company�s valuation,� said James. � 2000 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. so what do you think?

I think those little piggies are NOT going to market! I don't have a problem with it. I hope one day they will be able to clone organs which will allow children to live full and happy lives.

me too.

I need to give you big hugs.... * hugs *

aw, thanks, marcia!

*grin*