Recently, more and more interesting and largely controversial experiments are being carried out in China. We have already told you how a Chinese scientist, using the CRISPR genome editor, edited the genes of children before they were born. Some time ago, the controversial surgeon Sergio Canavero planned to perform a head transplant in China, but this never happened. But not so long ago, something different happened: an international team of scientists for the first time in history raised a viable embryo of ape and humans.
Who created the ape-human hybrid?
According to the Daily Mail.uk, the research group included scientists from the Salk Institute (USA) and the Catholic University of Murcia (Spain). The team of experts was led by biologist Juan Carlos Izpisua. But why was China chosen for this purpose? It's quite simple: in China, much less strict legislation regarding the conduct of genetic experiments and, according to scientists, conducting an experiment in China significantly accelerated the beginning of the experiment itself, and also allowed "to avoid additional legal issues."
The head of the research group is Juan Carlos Izpisua.
How the hybrid human-monkey embryo was created
The researchers formed a hybrid embryo by genetically modifying monkey embryos. First, they deactivated genes that are necessary for the formation of organs, and then they introduced human stem cells into the embryo that are capable of forming tissues. In other words, the embryo was formed by mixing the genome of monkeys and human stem cells. Thus, after the introduction of stem cells, it would be possible to grow human tissues, organs and organ systems.
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It is worth noting that the embryo was destroyed on the 14th day of pregnancy and could not develop into a full-fledged organism, but the development proceeded quite normally and without any deviations. The end of the second week of pregnancy was not chosen by chance. Scientists called this period of time the "Red Line". That is, the embryo has not yet begun to develop the central nervous system. Namely, this is often a counterargument in creating hybrids of animals and humans, because the formation of the central nervous system from human stem cells, in theory, can provoke the emergence of developed consciousness.
Scientists have previously experimented with the creation of interspecific hybrids. They managed to create a hybrid of a mouse and a rat, as well as a pig embryo with human stem cells. Although the second experiment ended in failure. In addition to the fact that the embryo was also destroyed during the "Red Line" period, human cells practically did not take root.
But for this to happen, there are a lot of ethical issues to be addressed. Some scientists are inclined to believe that such embryos will gain consciousness. Others believe that this will not happen. What do you think? Share your opinion in the comments.
Vladimir Kuznetsov