World’s first ever pig-monkey hybrids have been created by Chinese scientists
THE world’s first monkey-pig hybrids have been born, which could pave the way for human organs grown by animals.
A groundbreaking experiment produced creatures with hearts, livers, spleens, lungs and skin which contained pig and primate cells.
Stem cells from macaque monkeys were grown in a lab and then injected into pig embryos five days after fertilisation.
Of more than 4,000 implanted in sows, ten piglets were born. But only two were chimeras and both died in a week.
However the Chinese scientists reckon that may be due to IVF procedure.
Beijing-based Tang Hai said: “This is the first report of full-term pig-monkey chimeras.”
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The piglets, known as moinkeys, had organs with monkey cells in a very low ratio. A similar US experiment in 2017 used pig and human DNA.
Embryos were developed for only a month amid fears the brain may be partly human.
University of California stem cell biologist Paul Knoepfler said: “Given the extremely low chimeric efficiency and the deaths of all the animals, I see this as fairly discouraging.”
Rocket Mice
GENETICALLY enhanced supermice have been launched into space.
The eight rodents, which are twice as muscly as normal, are part of a three-ton cargo heading for the International Space Station.
The load also includes a robot sensitive to emotions, a miniature brewery’s malt house plus holiday goodies for the six station residents.
The Falcon rocket, Space X’s 19th supply run for Nasa, blasted off late from Cape Canaveral, Florida, a day late because of winds.
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