The rise of chimeras, interesting article

[Wulfsunus]

[Jezabel]

[Zarabeth]

[Wulfsunus]

[redlotus88]

[Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan]

True. Why should scientists work seriously to cure diseases like cancer and AIDS when the pharmeceuticals are making so bloody much off of the suffering of people with those afflictions? They're making far too much off of them as it is without finding a cure. I found this entire article somewhat disturbing because the reality is that by the time the researchers let us know that they've been working on something like this they've already done it. For some reason the Island of Dr Moreau came to mind.

I can see their reasoning and their motivations but there is something that I see that they didn't address. In nature species don't mix in this way. There is a reason for that. Tigers and lions mixed and now you have a creature that is near sabre tooth size and hunts lions and tigers alike, threatening to wipe them out completely. True, speciation evolves and diversifies all the time, this is one reason why species just disappear from the timelines. But they do it naturally, not in a lab and not so radically. Even so you don't see bear and racoons mating because those are not natural mating partners.

Stem cells may be harvested from pig embryos without a lot of extraneous experimentation for the most part. Pig blood is also very much like our own. If I remember correctly, didn't a dr transplant a pig's heart into a human patient a few years back? Stem cells aren't that hard to cultivate. Basicly an umbilical cord can have enough cells for several members of one's family. There are some cord banks that will also let someone put them out for public use as well. It's very expensive and most insurances won't pay for it, but it won't be anywhere near as expensive as growing these things.

[ShadowEyes]

[Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan]

[Jezabel]

[ShadowEyes]

[ShadowEyes]

[The Madame X]

ShadoewEyes & Jez, I am totally with you on this.
Its about time that we give some kind of worth to the ‘refuse of society’, to whom I personally rather consider victims. I certainly think that every human has worth; it is just a matter of knowing how to tap into it. Not only can they agree to be of assistance in such medical experiments, but we should also study them to try and prevent new generations from becoming trapped in similar behaviors.

[Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan]

I would agree. I have no use for those that murder or harm wee ones or other people for the sake of their own sadistic satisfaction.

The so called scientist that did the rabbit study was investigated by a board of ethics and he is no longer allowed to do research. Ironicly enough, he is a neurologist. That's a scary thought. Personally I think he should have had his medical license yanked as well, but that's just my two cents.

My point is that in nature in natural habitats, animals from different classes do not breed in the wild. Every living thing has it's purpose. When we intervene on the behalf of knowing what is best for the rest of us, we may are creating a different thing that does not occur naturally so they are unpredictable at best. At worst, it can create a very bad situation for not only the individual animal, but also for those around it. True, a lesser aggressive animal bred properly will breed a less agressive animal. My experience with rats is that they can be highly agressive according to the species (wharf rats are much more aggressive than other sorts. They can get as large as tom cats and kill smaller animals and have baaaaaaaad attitudes.) and well chihuahuas can be attitudinal as well lol. I have a chihuahuaneese and as sweet as he is, he can also be very attitudinal sometimes. Nonetheless, you get the general idea.


Breeding two different creatures that would not breed naturally is a violation of natural law. Mendel doesn't even play a part in it. Introducing an animal into a different environment is not the issue. The issue is mixing the genes of a pig or a girraffe for instance with the genes of a human being. We were not intended to do so, otherwise in nature we would see girrafe human interbreeding and producing living young. This does not happen in the wild, and for the most part what I find horrific is the fact that our tax dollars are paying for this masquerade of science.

It is not a matter of guilty feelings it is a matter of ethics. Ethics over rides moral issues. We as vampyres must understand ethical reasons for not giving into our bestial natures even though our moralities may differ. Science is no different. Scientist are bound by the ethics of natural laws. If I could see some viable reason for doing this sort of thing, I would have no problem with funding it. The problem is there are always other options. The money that they are spending to splice two species together could be better put to research say the rainforest for cures for these illnesses. They are out there.

When I was young, my grandmother would prepare a powder for a gentleman from the foxglove plant. It's a deadly plant, though beautiful, but it contains a ingredient called digitalis that used in the right amounts, can be used to treat heart attacks and technycardia. Co~incidentally, my father also had to take a medicine that contained digitalis, but it cost almost three digits versus the ten bucks of acquiring said plant. Likewise, now the same researchers that are doing this sort of experimentation, are pooh poohing the prospects of holistic and herbal remedies. Yet they use the exact same drug but because it is marketed through a pharmeceutical company, it is considered to be more valid even though it's the same thing. It's about money, not health.

Pig insulin is good example of how animals have helped us, and for that we can be grateful. I don't have issues with that. It's the irresponsible let's see what would happen if we throw several different species in a mixer science that I'm having trouble with. Science itself has made some incredible discoveries over the last few centuries, I am not by any means discrediting that. I do not feel as if this particular branch of experiementation is founded in scientific principles or in concern for human advancement. Biotechnology is not the bad guy. Irresponsible use for biotechnilogy is the bad guy.

"In laymans terms all this refers to is the inability of subsets to interbreed, regardless of whether the species is similar or dissimilar (obviously if they were not of the same species they wouldn't be able to interbreed anyhow). "

My point exactly. In the wild these odd mixtures that they are trying to breed would not be naturally occuring. Generally speaking, a predator does not breed with its prey. Equine breed with equines even though their offspring may be sterile as a result, cows don't breed with horses, they don't breed with chickens, and people don't breed with pigs, goats, or hippos.

You're absolutely right in regards to the last paragraph. My pardons for not being fully awake enough to quote it at the moment. It was a good ending statement. I would never say that all research is a bad thing. It's not and sometimes I know that yes there is no other way except to use animals, as much as I deplore this practice. I like Jezzie's idea. The only problem with that is that we maintain value on lives that have ruined the lives of others and end up on death row. We are willing to gas someone to death or deep fry them but using them for medical research is considered too inhumane for them. What makes someone that butchers a family and rapes children more of a human and less of of an animal than a zebra grazing on grass?

My basic train in regards to this thread was mainly that in all things, nature has provided simple answers for us. In the old days we lived simply and our lives were simpler and less complicated, so was our illnesses. Now we have more complicated lives with more complicated cures and our health issues have become more complicated as well as the cures. When I said that trying to fix a health issue by possibly creating a more complicated problem it wasn't a statement of morality it was common sense. I get a kick out of some of the prescription drug ads on tv. They completely crack me up, not only because they advertise them sometimes prior to them being approved, but also because the side effects for some of these things are outrageous. Take the one for the toe fungus, Lamisil I think it's called. This drug will get rid of your toe nail fungus BUT lol....and this is the part I get a kick out of....it may cause a side effect of liver dysfunction, kidney failure, diarrhea, debilitating stomach cramps, nausea...etc...BUT the good news is that it won't screw up your sex life with those nasty sexual side effects. LOL!!! See what I mean? We tend to think that everything has a very complicated solution but life itself is very simple. We complicate it. I think science does that as well sometimes. We have to find out why things go wrong with the human body before we can introduce things to fix it.

Random thought here, but geneticly speaking, we are all coded for every virus known to man. When we come in contact with a new virus that we're not coded for we have serious problems and because viruses are constantly changing they often mutate before they are caught and treated. We're not coded for the same viruses that most animals are coded for so if we received genetic information from a completely off the wall species...say a wombat or a tazmanian devil....I have to wonder how that would go. This is a very strange world we live in or I'm not awake enough to respond properly just yet lol.

Ack....


Ya know it's great to be able to have these sorts of discussions. It's not likely to happen in many other arenas.


Aislin
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[Jezabel]

I am glad some of you agree with me with mankind's er..."special" individiuals... I was thinking maybe I stepped over my boundaries with the murderers and rapists comment... I sometimes do have the ability to open my mouth and insert my foot, lol.

[Aislin Ni MorRhiaghan]

hehehhe....Jezzie you know what I think about murderers and rapists? I think they should put them in a cell with five big, hairy, nasty eat nails for breakfast, BUBBAS that haven't had fresh meat in a while and dress Mr. Chicken in a pink tutu. Does that sum it up?