Sheep hybrid ... people

Under the hands of British and American scientists, the chimera of Greek mythology was first introduced to the world: a sheep has half-human organs.

Professor Esmail Zanjani of the University of Nevada (USA) took seven years of conceptual conception and £ 5 million to realize the technology of injecting human cells into sheep fetuses, thereby producing the first hybrid sheep. The world's first - with 15% of human cells being human, the remaining 85% are animal cells.

The process of "manipulating" chimera monsters is summarized as follows: First, scientists extract stem cells from the bone marrow then inject into the peritoneum of the female fetus. These cells will be distributed throughout the metabolic system, into the blood circulation and to all internal organs in the animal's body. Lambs born after 2 months will have parts like liver, heart, lungs and brain that are relatively similar to humans and ready for transplantation.

(Photo: Xinhua) With the breeding of a successful sheep, Professor Zanjani hopes to replicate it into a flock of sheep. The evolution of this particular sheep breed offers a perspective in the not too distant future: the replacement of human organs for humans.

In the UK alone, there are 7,168 patients waiting for organs to transplant, two-thirds of them will probably die before the offerer appears.

Scientists from King's College in London and Newcastle Stem Cell Research Institute have now formally applied to HFEC - the relevant government agency of the UK - to apply for a license to conduct breeding. chimera series.

However, this project is facing fierce opposition from animal rights defenders and some critical figures. The risk of cell integration, thereby creating a hybrid organism that has the characteristics of both sheep and humans - is what they worry more than whether the patient has organs for transplants.