Medicine To Perfect Disease Treatment With Better Animal Models Chimera

Chimera, an organism that is partly human and partly animal, is now being tried for a possible breakthrough in human diseases. The new experiment is aimed at discovering a possible cure for diseases by using the organs.

The chimera, an organism derived from the combination of animal and human embryo, is being hoped to be suitable for providing cure for human diseases in better animal models. However, several ethical issues have been raised in creating an interspecies development, causing the search for a scientific discovery to be interrupted.

Chimera research funding has been asked to be suspended by the National Institute of Health in America due to the ethical issues concerning the chimera mission. Some reports indicate that a few scientists are cautious about discussing the idea of farm animals having the human organs to be surgically moved into terminally ill human patients. According to New York Medical College professor Stuart Newman, the chimera research is heading towards a disturbing ground that he believes could bring damage to the sense of humanity, Boise State Public Radio reported.

However, those scientists who are determined to continue with the chimera project have already looked for alternative funds, believing that the advances will convince the NIH to lift the ban. University of California biologist Pablo Ross said that they are trying to create a chimera because of a biomedical reason.

At present, Ross is trying to make a pancreas that could help diabetic patients undergoing treatment through a pig embryo that involves gene-editing methods. This process needs the chimera embryos to be transplanted into the adult pigs' wombs. According to Ross, it will take 28 days, when the embryos are expected to begin forming organs, before the embryo is removed to dissect.

However, Mr Newman argues that this type of experiment is disturbing as science may eventually produce pigs that has partly human brains and something like of a human consciousness.

Chimera mission is also being questioned because of the likelihood of producing a partly human, partly pig creature. Yet Ross claims that they can prevent against unintentional chimera mating, which allows the research to provide humans with the greatest benefits, according to Christian Post.