Science has created a mouse carrying human cells

By injecting human stem cells into mouse embryos, the scientists will create mouse varieties for more accurate test results.

The combination of genetic building blocks of two different animals sounds like a sci-fi movie with a disastrous end. But this is exactly the truth scientists are doing by injecting human stem cells into mouse embryos.

According to Science News, the experiment after 17 days of development, one of the obtained embryos contains more than 4% of human cells.

These hybrids are called chimera . Scientists in many countries have conducted experiments to add human cells to animal embryo development, but none has been as successful as this one.

The scientists modified the human stem cell by adjusting the protein and returning it to its original state when it was under development. This helps the cells adapt to the new environment in mouse embryos.

Human cells (green) are growing in mouse embryos (blue). (Photo: Science Alert).

After 17 days of injection, human cells have spread to most of the animal's embryos. These human cells in tissues form organs such as the heart, brain and blood. Not all embryos develop equally. For example human cells may appear in the eye. And there are embryos that reappear in human cells in another part.

So what is the meaning of this experiment? The ultimate goal is not to create human and animal hybrids as in the legend. If these hybrids reach a certain maturity, they may play an important role in testing new treatments and treatments before they are implemented in humans.

Put simply, but mice carrying human cells will have more accurate test results than regular mice.

In the future, scientists may also develop human organs on pigs' bodies. It is a healthy organ and is suitable for transplant experiments.

But that is the scientific side, the humanitarian issue is another story. It is cruel to say that human life is more valuable than the lives of other animals. These human-carrying organisms are only for human use.

Anyway, the mouse embryo containing 4% of the human cells of this experiment is an important test step, a prerequisite for many developments in future biological sciences.