Reading this article definitely intrigues me. This experiment, while a little morbid, is ground-breaking in the fact it shows that it is possible to grow human tissue and organs in animals. Although this operation requires more research and time, it definitely is a huge step forward into research involving stem cell research.
Harvesting human organs is not a new concept, especially in science fiction. Most stories focus on the rights, or lack there of, of the clone. This issue would very quickly arise if we got to a point where organ donations could come from these types of chimera organisms. At what percentage genuine human DNA (not similar DNA) would you draw the line at what defines a human with human rights? -Ryan Tumminello
This reminds me of an experience I had a few years ago on a tour through a regenerative medicine lab. Researchers had stripped a pig kidney of all its "pig cells" and left only the structural proteins and were then trying to fill in the rest of the organ with human stem cells that should differentiate into kidney cells. I remember being so amazed that this was even possible! While this technology is truly amazing if it was harnessed and used productively, the question always lingers--what if someone abuses it? What if organs turn into a commodity and are sold for hundreds and thousands of dollars, introducing yet another socioeconomic discrepancy in healthcare? While these ethical concerns may be founded, they shouldn't discourage or slow the research that is occurring, but rather guide the thinking of researchers and policymakers to ensure that relief of suffering and protection of human rights remain a priority. -Victoria Hughes
I recently read an article which used what they called "chimeras." The research was on the autoimmune system "overreacting" and causing an unwanted immune response, commonly known as arthritis. In the process of testing what the mechanism of this immune response was, the researchers used mice as test subjects. Without going into much detail on the research, a serum from a different mouse was required as a control for the experiment. They called these mice chimeras which were a mix of two different mice in a way. I guess this goes to show that research using similar ideas is already being done to understand a wide array of subjects. -Daniel Habenicht
Reading this article definitely intrigues me. This experiment, while a little morbid, is ground-breaking in the fact it shows that it is possible to grow human tissue and organs in animals. Although this operation requires more research and time, it definitely is a huge step forward into research involving stem cell research.
ReplyDeleteHarvesting human organs is not a new concept, especially in science fiction. Most stories focus on the rights, or lack there of, of the clone. This issue would very quickly arise if we got to a point where organ donations could come from these types of chimera organisms. At what percentage genuine human DNA (not similar DNA) would you draw the line at what defines a human with human rights?
ReplyDelete-Ryan Tumminello
This reminds me of an experience I had a few years ago on a tour through a regenerative medicine lab. Researchers had stripped a pig kidney of all its "pig cells" and left only the structural proteins and were then trying to fill in the rest of the organ with human stem cells that should differentiate into kidney cells. I remember being so amazed that this was even possible! While this technology is truly amazing if it was harnessed and used productively, the question always lingers--what if someone abuses it? What if organs turn into a commodity and are sold for hundreds and thousands of dollars, introducing yet another socioeconomic discrepancy in healthcare? While these ethical concerns may be founded, they shouldn't discourage or slow the research that is occurring, but rather guide the thinking of researchers and policymakers to ensure that relief of suffering and protection of human rights remain a priority.
ReplyDelete-Victoria Hughes
I recently read an article which used what they called "chimeras." The research was on the autoimmune system "overreacting" and causing an unwanted immune response, commonly known as arthritis. In the process of testing what the mechanism of this immune response was, the researchers used mice as test subjects. Without going into much detail on the research, a serum from a different mouse was required as a control for the experiment. They called these mice chimeras which were a mix of two different mice in a way. I guess this goes to show that research using similar ideas is already being done to understand a wide array of subjects. -Daniel Habenicht
ReplyDelete