by Elias Marat
For the first time, scientists have created embryos in a lab that contain cells from both humans and monkeys.
Scientists hope that by creating chimeric embryos – embryos that contain cells of two different types – they may be able to form organs for people who are most in need of transplants.
Currently, there are more than 100,000 people in the United States alone on the waiting list for life-saving organ transplants, but the supply of donor organs has decreased dramatically since the pandemic began.
Researchers have attempted to inject human stem cells into pig and sheep embryos in recent years in the hope of transplanting organs for transplants, but this has not yielded positive results. Scientists hope that by switching to macaques, which share greater genetic similarities to humans, they may have greater success.
In a study published Thursday in the journal cellAnd the Researchers in the United States and China have injected 25 human pluripotent stem cells into macaque embryos.
After one day, the researchers discovered that human cells began to grow in 132 embryos. The embryos ultimately survived for 19 days.
However, bioethicists have raised concerns about the potential misuse of the medical regulations currently governing the treatment of animals and humans, as well as the possibility that rogue scientists may elevate organisms with human cells.
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My first question is: Why? Said Christine Matthews, science and technology fellow at Rice University’s Baker Institute NPR. “I think the audience will feel anxious, and me too, because we’re pushing forward with science without having a proper conversation about what we should and shouldn’t do.”
The researchers insist that the study serves purely humanitarian goals that could save countless lives in the future.
“This work is an important step that provides very convincing evidence that one day when we fully understand what a process is, we can make it develop into a heart, a kidney, or two lungs,” University of Michigan professor Geoffrey Platt, who was not involved in the study, said.
Source: Unleash your mind