# First successful human-pig hybrid created in cell research lol?



## Hero of Freedom (Nov 23, 2014)

*First successful human-pig hybrid created in cell research lol?(Legit yep)*






From the article on this new breakthrough:

_*"For the first time, researchers have successfully grown human cells inside early-stage pig embryos in the lab, creating pig-human hybrids, which the researchers describe as interspecies chimeras.

While still early days, the experiment might one day lead to lab-grown human organs that can be transplanted into those who need them, potentially saving thousands of lives.

In the experiment, researchers in the US injected human stem cells into early-stage pig embryos. These hybrid embryos were then transferred into surrogate sows and allowed to develop until the first trimester.

More than 150 of the embryos developed into chimeras, which meant that they had developed the precursors of organs including the heart and liver, but they contained a small amount of human cells - around one in 10,000 of the hybrids' cells were human.

This is a proof-of-concept experiment showing that human-pig hybrids are possible. The ultimate goal is to find a way to use these lab-grown human parts for transplants.

"Our findings may offer hope for advancing science and medicine by providing an unprecedented ability to study early embryo development and organ formation, as well as a potential new avenue for medical therapies," said team member Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, from the Salk Institute in California.

"We have shown that a precisely targeted technology can allow an organism from one species to produce a specific organ composed of cells from another species."

Izpisua Belmonte and his team previously performed experiments to create interspecies chimeras in the lab back in 2015.

Their early study successfully integrated human stem cells into mouse embryos, which showed that human stem cells could develop inside another species, creating a world-first chimera.

The term chimera comes from a legend in Greek mythology, describing a monster which was often depicted as a lion with a goat’s head sticking from the side of its neck, and a snake for a tail. In biology, it describes the natural or artificial development of one individual organism containing cells from another, and scientists have long been fascinated by them.

"This provides us with an important tool for studying species evolution, biology and disease, and may lead ultimately to the ability to grow human organs for transplant," Izpisua Belmonte explains.

Building upon their previous research, the team has now announced that they have successfully pulled off a series of new experiments that push the field even further. 

The human-pig embryo was the culmination of these experiments, but there were two other important steps along the way. The team's first experiment involved using CRISPR-Cas9, a versatile new tool in gene-editing technology, to turn off the genes that produce a pancreas in mice. They then inserted rat stem cells into the mouse that contained the genetic information needed to grow a rat pancreas.

These embryos, despite having a different species’ pancreas growing inside of them, developed normally, which prompted them to try similar experiments, such as growing a set of rat eyes and a rat heart inside a mouse.

Most notably, they were also able to grow a gallbladder inside the mouse from rat stem cells, which is unique because rats don’t even have gallbladders.

"Our rodent experiments reveal a profound secret, that a developing mouse was able to unlock a gallbladder developmental program in rat cells that is normally suppressed during rat development," explains team member Jun Wu, also from the Salk Institute.

"This highlights the importance of the host environment in controlling organ development and evolutionary speciation."

A second experiment tried adding rat and mouse stem cells to an early stage pig embryo. Interestingly, after implanting these cell bundles back into pigs for continued gestation of about four weeks, there was no sign of the rodent stem cells.

A third experiment kicked it up a notch - they added human stem cells to clusters of embryonic pig cells, and to embryonic cow cells, forming two new chimeras. After a couple of days they investigated the cells and found the human cells were still growing. 

These experiments all led up to the biggest of the team’s findings: the ability to create a human-pig hybrid that would continue to develop inside a pig's uterus.

To do so, the team took human induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and inserted them into a pig embryo as before. They then implanted the embryos into sows and allowed the cells to gestate for four weeks. After that time, they decided to see how everything was going."*_

Rest of it can be read at: The first human-pig hybrid embryo has been created in the lab - ScienceAlert

Maybe someday they can create real life equivalents of creatures like "dragons" or griffins and others out of gene modifying to have them inhabit this world. It would make this planet a whole lot more interesting. Maybe they could also create a new species someday to go to war for people so they don't have to or do the "heavy lifting" work?


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## IDontThinkSo (Aug 24, 2011)

I expected a picture of Trump, somehow.


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## Zosio (Mar 17, 2015)

Well, I'm glad I don't work on the ethics committee which will have to deal with _this_ debacle.


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## Allosy (Jul 28, 2016)

Full Metal Alchemist will become a raelity:violin:


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## Hero of Freedom (Nov 23, 2014)

Allosy said:


> Full Metal Alchemist will become a raelity:violin:


Wouldn't humanoid pigs mixed with some human traits basically be classified as real life "orcs"?

Next thing they could do is maybe infact as I mentioned create two "races of creatures", one of which can be created to be used as more efficient soldiers than people and the other to do heavy lifting, building and maintaining structures or mining work for us?


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## Accord2 (Oct 13, 2014)

And one day they will create something that will kill us all... *sigh* I think some things just shouldn't be made, it's not ethical.


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

already been done


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## DarkSideOfLight (Feb 15, 2011)

As people tend to eat shit like pigs do, I see no problem with that. Gut transplants should be the way to go.


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## Sava Saevus (Feb 14, 2015)

Allosy said:


> Full Metal Alchemist will become a raelity:violin:


Ed... ward.


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## Grandmaster Yoda (Jan 18, 2014)

I want there to be pigs with human intelligence levels.


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## tinyheart (Jun 17, 2016)

I want there to be _dogs_ with human intelligence level so I can hold conversations with my dog! jk, unethical :mellow:


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## Hero of Freedom (Nov 23, 2014)

Grandmaster Yoda said:


> I want there to be pigs with human intelligence levels.


What happens if they can stand on two legs and hold a spear or know how to use a gun?


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## Wiz (Apr 8, 2014)

Great! I know at least a dozen human pigs all ready. But seriously, if the creature isn't conscious, and are used for whatever constructive scientific reasons I don't see the problem. Ethical or threat wise.

It's not like in the movies where someone drops [x]-acid down in the pighuman soup and the pig will become the hulk or whatever.


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## TheCosmicHeart (Jun 24, 2015)

Sorry but this just seems wrong to me , this is going into territory that maybe we shouldn't go to , also what is the purpose? So we can have another race of beings on this planet who might be our equals? Or will we abuse this? To me this feels wrong if pigs were going to evolve to the point they had human level of intelligence then they would.


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## Westy365 (Jun 21, 2012)

My only thing I'd want in this department is for them to figure out how to allow people to have long-lasting orgasms like pigs. That would be cool haha.


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## Laze (Feb 19, 2015)

What are the 'ethical concerns' here?


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## Sava Saevus (Feb 14, 2015)

Laze said:


> What are the 'ethical concerns' here?


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## Flow Ozzy (Nov 7, 2015)

Are these chimeras gonna look like this ?


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## dukaalmaar (Dec 27, 2016)

I have no idea why but this kind of thing's really interesting to me. It's probably just one more thing to add to the massive list of ways the human race could off itself if it leads onto genetic splicing to create entirely new species but it's just so _interesting_
Orcs in real life would be something... There's so many different Orcs though, the Orcs in The Elder Scrolls are much different to the Orcs in the LotR/Hobbit movies for example


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## Handsome Dyke (Oct 4, 2012)

The end is near.


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## strawberryLola (Sep 19, 2010)

Oh. The fruition of some greedy pigs' attempt have come to be realized into a scientific reality. DNA self-expression. Too bad they cannot morph their own karmic energies straight into little creatures utilized for scientific research. It's like their own sado-masochistic _destiney.. _


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## douleur (Mar 12, 2017)

I think that the aim of this experiment is to find a way to grow tissue out of human cells in another species' organism. Personally I see nothing wrong if it is controlled since from the arcticle it seems that they have just injected the embryo with somatic human cells which continue to grow on their own not affecting the DNA of the animals. Of course there might be some ethical concerns as you are playing with the lives of innocent animals but it just seems so interesting to me... Wish I wasn't so enthusiasthic about humans trying to fool with nature


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## Hero of Freedom (Nov 23, 2014)

douleur said:


> I think that the aim of this experiment is to find a way to grow tissue out of human cells in another species' organism. Personally I see nothing wrong if it is controlled since from the arcticle it seems that they have just injected the embryo with somatic human cells which continue to grow on their own not affecting the DNA of the animals. Of course there might be some ethical concerns as you are playing with the lives of innocent animals but it just seems so interesting to me... Wish I wasn't so enthusiasthic about humans trying to fool with nature


What if they could though create new interesting creatures such as maybe even 'dragons' or more creatures from 'mythology' etc one day?


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## douleur (Mar 12, 2017)

Chara said:


> What if they could though create new interesting creatures such as maybe even 'dragons' or more creatures from 'mythology' etc one day?


Are you saying that dragons don't already exist????
All jokes aside, I think that it would be fun to have a dragon roommate or a friendly elf teacher. On the other hand humans still haven't learned how to appreciate their racial and cultural diversities and I am slightly worried about what would happen if mythological creatures escaped the books and entered our complicated world. :concern:


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## Hero of Freedom (Nov 23, 2014)

strawberryLola said:


> Oh. The fruition of some greedy pigs' attempt have come to be realized into a scientific reality. DNA self-expression. Too bad they cannot morph their own karmic energies straight into little creatures utilized for scientific research. It's like their own sado-masochistic _destiney.. _


Would be great somebody if the people who have greedy hoarding genes, got mixed with pig traits to help distinguish them from everybody else lol?


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