PET PET
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
Become a Friend Donate
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
    • People
    • Press Office
    • Our History
  • Get Involved
    • Become a Friend of PET
    • Volunteer
    • Campaigns
    • Writing Scheme
    • Partnership and Sponsorship
    • Advertise with Us
  • Donate
    • Become a Friend of PET
  • BioNews
    • News
    • Comment
    • Reviews
    • Elsewhere
    • Topics
    • Glossary
    • Newsletters
  • Events
    • Upcoming Events
    • Previous Events
  • Engagement
    • Policy and Projects
      • Resources
    • Education
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us
  • My Account
  • Subscribe
  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements
PETBioNewsNewsHuman-monkey hybrid embryos grown in China, claim researchers

BioNews

Human-monkey hybrid embryos grown in China, claim researchers

Published 9 August 2019 posted in News and appears in BioNews 1010

Author

Dr Yvonne Collins

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).

A team of scientists in the USA and Spain claims to have produced human-monkey hybrid embryos in China...

A team of scientists in the USA and Spain claims to have produced human-monkey hybrid embryos in China. 

According to a report in El País, researchers led by Professor Juan Carlos Izpisúa Belmonte at the Salk Institute in La Jolla, California, genetically modified monkey embryos to deactivate genes essential for organ formation. Human stem cells - which can grow into any type of tissue - were then injected into these embryos. Although none of the embryos were reportedly allowed to develop beyond a few weeks, it could open doors for future use of animals in human organ transplants. The team plans to publish their findings in a scientific journal. 

Dr Estrella Núñez, project collaborator and vice chancellor of research at Murcia Catholic University in Guadalupe, Spain, said: 'The results are very promising.'

Professor Izpisúa Belmonte added: 'We are now trying not only to move forward and continue experimenting with human cells and rodent and pig cells, but also with non-human primates.'

This type of research had previously raised technical and ethical concerns and is currently heavily restricted in Spain and the USA. Dr Núñez told El País: 'We are doing the experiments with monkeys in China because, in principle, they cannot be done here [Spain] because of lack of infrastructure.'

Professor Robin Lovell-Badge at the Francis Crick Institute in London, told the Guardian: 'I don't think it is particularly concerning in terms of the ethics, because you are not taking them far enough to have a nervous system or develop in any way - it's just really a ball of cells.' 

However, he added that if the hybrid embryos were developed further, it could raise concerns: 'How do you restrict the contribution of the human cells just to the organ that you want to make. If that is a pancreas or a heart or something, or kidney, then that is fine if you manage to do that. [But] if you allow these animals to go all the way through and be born, if you have a big contribution to the central nervous system from the human cells, then that obviously becomes a concern.'

Dr Alejandro De Los Angeles at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, believes that there is still a long way to go before human-monkey chimeras are brought to term. 'The evolutionary distance between humans and monkeys spans 30-40 million years, so it is unclear if this is even possible,' he told the Guardian. 

In a final comment, Dr Núñez said: 'The ultimate goal would be to create a human organ that could be transplanted, but the path itself is almost more interesting for today's scientists. I am essentially aware that I will not see it happen [the development of human organs in animals] but to arrive at that point, it's necessary to pass through this one.'

The report follows a recent announcement that a Japanese researcher received government approval to create human-animal embryos and bring them to term (see BioNews 1009).

Sources and References

  • 02/08/2019
    Express
    Human-monkey hybrid embryo grown in China - scientists celebrate at breakthrough
  • 03/08/2019
    Independent
    World’s first human-monkey hybrid created in China, scientists reveal
  • 05/08/2019
    The Scientist
    First Human–Monkey Chimeras Developed in China
  • 01/08/2019
    MIT Technology Review
    Scientists are making human-monkey hybrids in China
  • 31/07/2019
    El Pais
    Spanish scientists create human-monkey chimera in China
  • 03/08/2019
    The Guardian
    First human-monkey chimera raises concern among scientists

Related Articles

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
Comment
26 April 2021 • 4 minutes read

Sorry mate, you're a monkey…

by Dr Anna Smajdor

Many of our legal and moral frameworks are based on natural distinctions...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
16 April 2021 • 2 minutes read

Researchers generate human-monkey chimeric embryos

Monkey embryos containing human stem cells have been grown successfully for the first time...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
27 November 2020 • 2 minutes read

Human gene triggers bigger brain in monkeys

by Anna Wernick

A mutation in a gene specific to humans may be the key to our large brain and intelligence, scientists propose...

Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the output from a DNA sequencing machine.
CC BY 4.0
Image by Peter Artymiuk via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts the shadow of a DNA double helix, on a background that shows the fluorescent banding of the sequencing output from an automated DNA sequencing machine.
News
19 June 2020 • 2 minutes read

China collects DNA from millions of men and boys

by Georgia Everett

Chinese authorities are collecting blood samples from across the country to build a genetic map of its roughly 700 million males...

Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false colour).
CC BY 4.0
Image by Sílvia Ferreira, Cristina Lopo and Eileen Gentleman via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a single human stem cell embedded within a porous hydrogel matrix (false-coloured cryogenic scanning electron micrograph).
News
15 May 2020 • 2 minutes read

Human stem cells grown inside mouse embryos

by Emma Bunting

Scientists have developed a method that dramatically increases the production of human stem cells using mouse embryos...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
2 August 2019 • 2 minutes read

Japanese scientist gets approval to create human-animal embryos

by Dr Yvonne Collins

The Japanese Government has approved the first human-animal embryo experiments which could eventually lead to a new source of organs for transplant...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
News
27 February 2018 • 2 minutes read

Sheep embryos with human cells grown for first time

by Kathryn Ashe

Scientists have successfully grown sheep embryos containing human cells, taking a step towards a method for growing human organs in animals for transplantation...

Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
CC BY 4.0
Image by K Hardy via the Wellcome Collection. Depicts a human embryo at the blastocyst stage (about six days after fertilisation) 'hatching' out of the zona pellucida.
Comment
15 January 2018 • 5 minutes read

Sperm, eggs and embryos: how do we define them as science offers new possibilities?

by Dr Avi Lerner

The Progress Educational Trust (PET)'s Annual Conference 'Crossing Frontiers: Moving the Boundaries of Human Reproduction' discussed some of the most important ethical and scientific questions facing human reproduction. The first session, chaired by Sarah

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
14 September 2016 • 2 minutes read

Bioethical framework for human-animal embryo research proposed

by Anneesa Amjad

A prominent bioethicist in the USA has suggested that most of the ethical concerns surrounding the creation of animal-human chimera embryos using human pluripotent stem cells could be reasonably addressed...

Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family (from Greek and Roman mythology) entwined in coils of DNA.
Image by Bill Sanderson via the Wellcome Collection, © Wellcome Trust Ltd 1990. Depicts Laocoön and his family entwined in coils of DNA (based on the figure of Laocoön from Greek and Roman mythology).
News
12 August 2016 • 4 minutes read

NIH to lift moratorium on human—animal chimera research

by Dr Antony Starza-Allen

The US National Institutes of Health is considering lifting a ban on the funding of research to create human-animal 'chimeras' and replacing it with an ethical review process...

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

« Cambridgeshire and Peterborough CCG suspends funded IVF indefinitely

Data-Label The UK's Leading Supplier Of Medical Labels & Asset Labels

RetiringDentist.co.uk The UK's Leading M&A Company.

Find out how you can advertise here
easyfundraising
amazon

This month in BioNews

  • Popular
  • Recent
8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

1 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

First UK medical guidelines issued for trans fertility preservation

13 June 2022 • 2 minutes read

Drop in diversity of blood stem cells leads to old-age health issues

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Placenta and organ formation observed in mouse embryo models

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Complex structures of the human heart bioengineered

8 August 2022 • 1 minute read

Brain tumour gene also linked to childhood cancers

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Lower hormone doses may improve IVF egg quality

8 August 2022 • 2 minutes read

Boosting muscle cell production of gene therapy proteins

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856

Subscribe to BioNews and other PET updates for free.

Subscribe
PET PET

PET is an independent charity that improves choices for people affected by infertility and genetic conditions.

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • RSS
Wellcome
Website redevelopment supported by Wellcome.

Navigation

  • About Us
  • Get Involved
  • Donate
  • BioNews
  • Events
  • Engagement
  • Jobs & Opportunities
  • Contact Us

BioNews

  • News
  • Comment
  • Reviews
  • Elsewhere
  • Topics
  • Glossary
  • Newsletters

Other

  • My Account
  • Subscribe

Website by Impact Media Impact Media

  • Privacy Statement
  • Advertising Policy
  • Thanks and Acknowledgements

© 1992 - 2022 Progress Educational Trust. All rights reserved.

Limited company registered in England and Wales no 07405980 • Registered charity no 1139856