Human Hybrids are gonna be illegal or something.

[StarmanXL]

http://www.nola.com/news/index.ssf/2009/04/humananimal_hybrid_ban_sought.html

Apparently, the Louisiana Legislature is looking to put a ban on making human-animal hybrids (from what I understand, putting human embryo in non-human womb and vice-versa, splicing non-human genes into humans, and so on). I honestly don't know why the hell they came up with this particular issue ("It is becoming more of an issue globally," says a lobbyist)--the only valid explanation I can see would be to prevent people from circumventing cloning laws by putting embryos in non-human wombs--but still it seems a bit ridiculous, like the legislators just watched a bad Sci-Fi flick or something. And I also have to wonder how that will affect organ transplants from non-humans such as pig hearts as well as diabetes research and genetic research in general.

Maybe I'm just missing something...can someone explain? The conscience bill at least makes more sense in its rationale for being proposed.

 

[Janenmori]

It may just be precautionary on the state's part to prevent any scientist from overstepping the bounds of research into the realm of scifi freaky ass shit.

Unrelated, but there was a South Park where this was actually an issue.

 

[Polis4rule]

I never knew that Human-Animal hybrids existed predominately in today's world.

 

[Mr. Sableye]

I didn't even know scientists got to this point yet...

Are they like hybrids as in half-fish half-human? Or are they basically human, but born from a different animal?

 

[Xia]

From the sounds of it, they are either human embryo's being transplanted into animals for birthing/growing, or putting a human nuclei into the cell of an animal. Either way, I can see why people would be alarmed by such a notion, but really their intentions seem okay (assuming harvesting human or semi-human cells is acceptable).

On a semi-related note, Southpark has a half man half bear half pig as well. =P

 

[BARILLIAN]

We already have human/animal hybrids, China made human/rabbit and then killed it to harvest stem cells. The technology is not that well-developed though, the goal is growing human organs on pigs and so on so they can be butchered freely for transplants when need be. Ban on placing human genes on nonhuman organisms is utterly retarded, enjoy killing all your diabetes patients and going back to taking your insulin from horses, for one.

You can't put human embryos in nonhumans or viceversa and expect it to work. It rarely if ever works in even closely related animals, I think there is a least one project to bring back extinct animals by cloning them on to closely related species (I think it was a goat of sorts), it failed.

Also this page refuses to show the story to me.

 

[Sephirona]

I don't think anyone is able to implant human embryos into non-human hosts yet. I think the main issue there is the morality (or lack thereof) of creating a genetically part-human person. It's probably some more conservative people getting overly nervous about the lifting of the ban on stem cell research, though.

Growing human organs for transplantation is definitely one of the motives, as said above. Actually, scientists have already been able to grow heart tissue from just a few cells and stimulate them with small electric currents into miniature, beating hearts. It was on a WIRED episode, or another one of those science programs, a few years ago. But it's all still very new, and no one's going to be growing brains anytime soon. Probably very expensive, too, which is why harvesting them from animals probably looks like a better option. :c

 

[Zepar]

I think they want less outcasts that may/not commit suicide. It's just a matter of time now that they were banning Animal/Human Human/Plant or Animal/Plant projects.

China made human/rabbit and then killed it to harvest stem cells.

which is why harvesting them from animals probably looks like a better option. :c

....

 

[BARILLIAN]

The best idea is still growing shit from your own tissue. Which we also can do, though I'm not sure we can consistently manage a proper heart yet. But muscles, skin, cartilage? Sure. There's this one guy (with a skeletal deformity, if I recall) whose ribcage was grown in a lab from a sample taken elsewhere on his body and then grafted on to him.

 

[Lexite]

There is a difference between using human DNA and placing it on a "host" and making the "host" half human. I do not have too much of a problem with trying to grown organs and such with the use of animals but making human/animals hybrids wrong and disturbing. I am referring to human/animal hybrid as in the kind of thing you would see in a freaky sifi thing. My example would be a mule or a henny with the mule being from a male ass and a female horse and a henny (or jenny) being from a male horse and a female ass. I do not consider the implantation of human organs into a animal host as a hybrid since the human organ acts more like a parasite to me, it is in the body and feeding off of the body but it is not initially part of the body.

The law would need to be carefully worded and such so that organ aspect of it (though i do not see it as the same thing) is not affected. As for the hybrid part as I described, that should be completely banned as we have no idea what kind of consequences that could bring if it is even possible for such an idea to develop into a living thing. Not to mention it is just creepy as hell, what are we going to try, half man half goldfish? Sorry but Id rather mermaids not exist. No Furries!

 

[Morm]

I like how ignorant this blanket statement of no hybrids kind of is. I mean it's certainly a slippery slope and we don't wanna end up with cosmetic hybrids, like making your kid into a furry, but there really is something to be said for limb regrowth- and it's not that hard, apparently you just need a small genetic alteration and a switching off of the genes that help scabbing and scar tissue form. Still, glow in the dark bodyparts would make obsolete glow in the dark condoms and that is a novelty that simply can't be ignored.