The Pope personally blessed the creation of chimeras
This is anecdotal. The response mentioned in the text of the letter to the MIT Technology Review has not yet come, and at yesterday's meeting with the Italian Committee for bioethics of the Holy Father said nothing about the chimeras. Though hardly known scholar, would knowingly false statements. Wait for it. – WM.
Christina Ulasevich, N+1
Spanish scientist working on the creation of animal Chimera with human cells, said that Pope Francis personally blessed his project. He told this in an interview with Scientific American (Tissue Mash-Up: a Q&A with Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte).
Work on the creation of chimeras with human cells began about 15 years ago. Chimeras represent the organisms of genetically distinct cells. To create human-animal chimeras human cells implanted in the embryo in the early stage of development, and then scientists are trying to get the animal with human bodies. The creation of chimeras potentially allows for preclinical testing of drugs and use of chimeras organs for transplantation to humans.
The main ethical problem, according to project leader Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, is that human cells can engraft in the brain of the animal, and give it some physiological features of the human. Or human stem cells can engraft in the germ line and then appear, for example, the pigs with human sperm or eggs. The options for development of the animal raises ethical debate.
Most of the work of the scientist involves collaboration with a team from the Spanish city of Murcia. Two-thirds of the Spanish population is Catholic, so the researchers turned to the Pope for approval.
"Spain is a very Catholic country, so we had to get the approval of the Pope. He very kindly said Yes, Belmonte said in an interview – So that the Vatican supports the study and has no problems, based on the idea of helping humanity. And, in theory, everything we do is kill the pigs".
The editors of the magazine MIT Technology Review sent an e-mail to the Papal Academy of Sciences, requesting confirmation of the position of Pope Francis. However, she has not yet received. It should be noted that the approval approval of the Pope could not be considered the official position of the Roman Catholic Church, if not made ex cathedra.
The position of the different States on the question of the legality of the creation of such chimeras vary. In 2008, the UK has approved the creation of chimeras of human and animal cells, provided that the embryos are not hooked into the uterus of a human or animal for further development. However, for example, last year the National institutes of health, USA creation of human-animal chimeras are not supported and refused to provide funding for such research.
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29.01.2015