A new report from a British university urges new rules to prevent new monsters. Specifically, human-animal hybrids are the subject of the Academy of Medical Sciences' concern.
Inserting human... material (what a phrase to conjure with!) into animals requires new regulatory bodies and policies, argue the authors.
Animals containing human tissues, cells or genetic information are used to refine research methods, creating animal models that better represent human disease, and to develop and produce new therapeutics.
The LA Times, always on the Gothic lookout, is quick to pounce on the "nightmares" possibility of chimeras:
If you can picture a frog with a human head, a monkey with human vocal chords or a dog with opposable thumbs, you can see why some people want to put the brakes on any sort of scientific experiment that mixes cells from different species.
Reuters falls back on the simple, potent classic term, describing rules for monsters.
Hybrids, monsters, crossbreeds, chimeras: what is the source of their fearsomeness? To begin with, they blur boundaries which we'd rather maintain. Moreover, they are linked to the messy nexus of reproduction, warped by science, which is always a fine stew for Gothic imaginings.
(thanks to James Foster; photo by A Little Lam)
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