Scientists believe they may have finally penetrated the mystique of the chimera.
On Jan. 26, a collaborative research group from Spain and the U.S. reported the success of a four-year project: human cells growing alongside pig cells in a pig embryo. Scientists hope that a pig-human chimera will serve as a vehicle for organ-harvesting. Every day, 22 individuals die waiting for an organ transplant. The process of creating a chimera does not destroy human life, but licensing such a powerful biotechnology challenges the hubris of the human race to wield God-like powers beyond therapeutic ends.
Scientists injected human pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into all types of adult cells, into a pig embryo. After inserting the embryo into the sow’s womb, the chimera grew for nearly a month before deliberate termination. Of the 2,000 pig-human chimeras created in the lab, only 186 embryos were successfully implanted in the womb. Of these 186 embryos, each contained one homo sapiens cell for every 100,000 pig cells. Notably, no human cells were observed in the pig brain. This research shows a promising pathway to a pig-human chimera, but it’s far from finished.
Creating a chimera is different from creating a hybrid. A chimera is made by taking cells from a fully-formed organism, such as human pluripotent stem cells, and injecting them into another fully-formed organism of a different species, ie. the pig embryo. A hybrid is made by co-mingling species at conception, where its two genetic parents come from different species.
In August, the U.S. National Institutes of Health stated that they would lift the moratorium banning the federal funding of all chimera-related research. That moratorium has yet to be lifted. The research unveiled last Friday was privately-funded. Nevertheless, whether, as a society, we should laud this research is an open question.
Mingling human cells with animal genetic material is not novel. Scientists routinely use animal hosts to grow human tumors and model human diseases. Just last week, Japanese researchers reported growing the first human ear astride the back of a white rat. The research team is optimistic that they will have a supply of ears made to order within five years.
Therapeutic ends confine the uses of this biotechnology and clearly delineate the hierarchy of beings in the relationship. Scientists are using animals to serve a higher purpose and save the lives of those desperately waiting for an organ. The scientists pursuing this research do not have Frankenstein-like intentions.
However, are we as a culture working with a robust understanding of human nature to confine the chimera to therapeutic purposes? Our debates over bathrooms and the recent opposing women’s marches on Washington show that, as a society, we cannot answer the fundamental question, “What is human nature and what does it mean to live well?” Ancient philosophers posed such questions, and the advent of Christianity radically transformed them. Today, though, those questions are met with a “let me live my life” attitude.
Without a clear understanding of authentic human flourishing, chimeric technology may extend dangerously beyond therapeutic purposes.
Wielding God-like powers does not give us God-like wisdom.
When biotechnology has the ability to alter nature permanently, primary questions like, “What is nature? What is the good life?” must be asked in light of this technology. In this way, as the esteemed bioethicist Leon R. Kass said, “biotechnology beyond therapy deserves to be examined not in fragments, but as a whole.”
The pig-human chimera holds great potential to save lives. But as with all powerful technology, we must question the level of restraint required and whether we have the self-control and wisdom to wield it.
Ms. Quinones is a senior majoring in biochemistry
