Harvard Graduate Journalism Program
​​SCIENCE AND CULTURE: CHIMERAS

​July 30, 2011

BROADCAST SCRIPT BY ALISA NIZHNIY

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What if you were able to create a mouse with a brain that is 100 percent human? The mouse might use its implanted human brain to take over the world, or it might just lobby to get work and health benefits. Does this sound farfetched?

 

Stanford University’s scientists have been injecting human neural stem cells into mouse fetuses, producing mice whose brains are 25 percent human.  According to Professor Irving Weissman, director of the Institute of Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University, the scientists plan to make chimeric mice with almost entirely human brains. Chimeras are organisms composed of cells that originate from two or more different species. Chimeras are created by introducing cells from one species into the developing embryo or fetus of another.

 

Think of everything that is fundamentally wrong with the human brain, and think of the qualities that differentiate human brains from animal brains. Human brains have evolved sophisticated egos, comprised of envy, thirst for power, motivations to lie and commit fallacies, betrayal. Now combine these factors with what we distinguish as typical animal instincts: hunting, copulating, fighting and fear. Do you sense the exciting opportunities for new human-animal chimeric hybrids?

 

Researchers have been developing human-animal chimeras in hopes to find cures for diseases. The reason that scientists test on animals in the first place is to prove a hypothesis, so that they can make a stronger case for testing on humans, according the to Scientific American. Creating an animal with a human brain is a way to create a loophole. Unless these new technologies are regulated carefully on a case-by-case basis, they will be subjected to abuse.

 

A report released on July 22 by the British Academy of Medical Sciences, calls for new rules to avoid ethical missteps. The report expressed concern over research that would implant human brain cells into animals, which could potentially lead to human-like ‘cerebral’ function. The report was also concerned with modifying animals to create characteristics that are perceived as uniquely human, such as facial shape, skin texture, or speech. If you've ever a wanted a talking cat, science is apparently closer to bringing you one.

 

New technologies involving stem cells could be the narcotics and tattoo shops of the future. Stem cell technologies could provide opportunities for new existential experiences and even body modification: Your boyfriend or girlfriend calls you up and says, "Yo man, I am so high on cat brain cells right now, and I can't wait for the octopus serum to kick in." By the end of the week, you'll see your significant other, who will be like, "Check out my new whiskers and tentacles, baby."

 

Now, that would probably be cute and fun and kinky, but underground recreational use could propel the unintended integration of these new biological technologies into society. So even if their scientific use is strictly regulated, these new technologies have potential to be taken out of their intended context by eccentric "hackers," causing uncontrollable mutations that would be catastrophic. How many new diseases and unknown factors that lead to birth defects could these mutations breed into the obstacles of human medicine? Oh wait, weren't we breeding chimeras to cure diseases rather than to cause them?

 

I think that scientists might have a deep enough understanding of the human anatomy to realize that cultivating human brains within specimens that are not human will burden all of us with bulky, unnecessary moral obligations. Consider America's soft spot: empathy for everyone and everything. We would never think to destroy any dangerous biological mistakes that we synthesize. They are human, after all.