April 8, 2008

Cow-human embryos

Benefiting science or creating - and killing - life?

By Jenna Bishop

Staff Writer

A website more accustomed to celebrity gossip than hard science, Perezhilton.com recently featured a headline that read “Cow-human embryo lives three days.”

            Apparently, these human-cow embryos have been created at Newcastle University in England.

            After injecting human DNA into eggs taken from cow’s ovaries, the embryos have been grown by a team at the University.  Although the creatures only lived for three days, their stems cells will hopefully develop cures for individuals suffering from Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or spinal-cord injuries. 

            According to a news website called Canada.com, Dr. Lyle Armstrong of Newcastle University defines this procedure a little more in depth saying “scientists have hollowed out the egg cells of cattle, inserted human DNA to create a growing embryo, and then take it apart to get the embryonic stem.”

           Professor David Burn, director of Northern Genetics Service at Newcastle University is quoted as saying that, “If the team can produce cells which will survive in culture, it will open the door to a better understanding of disease processes without having to use precious human eggs.”

            In January, the British Fertilization and Embryology Authority gave Newcastle University a license to do the work.  The license, however, prohibits embryos from being developed beyond fourteen days.

            Although Canada.com says that such experiments would not lead to hybrid human-animal babies, one just has to wonder what else they would develop into, or what the appearance of these “things” would look like.  This experiment raises concern about abortion, in light of the fact that life is being created and than taken away.