I hope that you were not making an attack on me, personally. That I know of, I have no "high horse" and since you don't know me, you wouldn't be able to fairly decide such a thing, either.
I think the thing that bothers me the most about this subject is the idea of creating a new species and possibly using it in the future to "perform menial jobs or dangerous jobs" as a sort of servant. Other future plans may be Patenting a genetic engineered species and selling this species to an interested buyer. It just sounds wrong to me somehow.
Some of the chimeras have had surprising results where some of the cells themselves have merged, creating hybrids. Whether this would be a good thing or a bad thing for transplant recipiants, it is unknown.
As for the near future, a mouse has already been created with what is reported to be a 100% human brain. It has been said that if this genetically altered mouse (mice?) seems to think in seemingly human-like ways (such as human problem solving abilities) it will be destroyed, all we have is their word on this, though.
I don't think of humans as sacred but I do wish this could be talked over and thought out a bit longer being this is such a new frontier. It may be easier to alter genes today than to undo the effects later.
03-14-2005, 07:31 PM
03-14-2005, 08:27 PM
I'm a big sci-fi fan so my imagination runs wild with thoughts of animals with human emotions. Just think of it. A mouse is caught in a mouse trap. It's mate watches the whole gristly scene and then watches you pick up the trap, mouse and all and throw it in the trash can. The living mouse begins to feel the human emotion of hatred swell in it's mind and then begins to plot revenge against the human that caused the beloved mate to die. Hey, I think I have the beginnings of a Dean Koontz novel LOL.
03-20-2005, 05:48 PM
Quote:
During pregnancy, the blood of the mother and fetus are kept separate, but some cells manage to slip through, meaning that you will have picked up some cells from your mother, and she some from you. In fact, some 80 to 90 per cent of women carry their children's cells or DNA in their blood during pregnancy and up to 50 per= centcarry them for decades after giving birth
Just the thought of autistic babies leaving a few of their genetic autistic cells or DNA in the blood of "CAN" Mothers making them Autistic chimeras was enough to place a grin on my face :twisted: I suddenly feel the urge to sing "we shall overcome" but will fight this urge for the courtesy of others.
07-28-2005, 02:29 PM
Human-cat chimera may put brake on allergy
02 April 2005
Andy Coghlan
IF THE mere presence of a cat makes you start wheezing, there may be hope at hand. An experimental allergy remedy might teach the immune system not to overreact.
The cat protein Fel d 1 is what triggers rashes and wheezing in allergy sufferers. While some companies are trying to genetically engineer cats to eliminate the protein, Andrew Saxon's team at the University of California at Los Angeles may have come up with a less drastic solution. By fusing the feline protein with a human one known to suppress allergic reactions, he has managed to stifle cat allergy in mice.
The feline part of the "chimeric" protein binds to the specific immune cells that generate the allergic reaction to Fel d 1. "We attached to the cat part a human part which says 'stop' to the cells," Saxon says. He likens the cat protein to a "gas pedal" that triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals, and the human half to a brake. Although both parts bind to the cell, the "brake" signal dominates (Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/nm1219).
If the trick works in humans too, the chimeric protein might provide a safe way of gradually retraining the immune system to tolerate Fel d 1. Saxon hopes to test it in clinical trials.
If it works, the same principle could be applied to food allergies. Saxon's team is working on the main peanut allergen.
From issue 2493 of New Scientist magazine, 02 April 2005, page 16
02 April 2005
Andy Coghlan
IF THE mere presence of a cat makes you start wheezing, there may be hope at hand. An experimental allergy remedy might teach the immune system not to overreact.
The cat protein Fel d 1 is what triggers rashes and wheezing in allergy sufferers. While some companies are trying to genetically engineer cats to eliminate the protein, Andrew Saxon's team at the University of California at Los Angeles may have come up with a less drastic solution. By fusing the feline protein with a human one known to suppress allergic reactions, he has managed to stifle cat allergy in mice.
The feline part of the "chimeric" protein binds to the specific immune cells that generate the allergic reaction to Fel d 1. "We attached to the cat part a human part which says 'stop' to the cells," Saxon says. He likens the cat protein to a "gas pedal" that triggers the release of inflammatory chemicals, and the human half to a brake. Although both parts bind to the cell, the "brake" signal dominates (Nature Medicine, DOI: 10.1038/nm1219).
If the trick works in humans too, the chimeric protein might provide a safe way of gradually retraining the immune system to tolerate Fel d 1. Saxon hopes to test it in clinical trials.
If it works, the same principle could be applied to food allergies. Saxon's team is working on the main peanut allergen.
From issue 2493 of New Scientist magazine, 02 April 2005, page 16
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