Health & Science
Scientists Make Part-Human Sheep
CBN News
March 26, 2007
CBNNews.com - A bio-ethical debate is raging at a Nevada university, where scientists have created the world's first sheep with half-human organs.
University of Nevada Professor Esmail Zanjani has spent seven years perfecting the technique, which involves injecting adult human cells into sheep fetuses.
This caused the animals to be born 15-percent human.
Scientists say this development will make it easier to use animal organs when people need transplants.
Professor Zanjani has already created a sheep liver that has a large proportion of human cells. He eventually hopes to precisely match a sheep to a transplant patient, using their own stem cells to create their own flock of sheep.
But the development is likely to revive criticisms about scientists playing God.
Some fear the possibility of silent viruses -- harmless in animals -- being introduced into the human race.
Dr. Patrick Dixon, an international lecturer on biological trends, warned, "Many silent viruses could create a biological nightmare in humans. Mutant animal viruses are a real threat, as we have seen with HIV."
Sources: CBN News, Associated Press
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