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Beyond Animal Research
By Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D.
August 2005 |
Chimeras: Beyond Our Moral Depth?
The chimeras I learned about as a biology student—obscure,
strange-looking fishes of the ocean depths—are not the same
as the ones now at the center of a debate in medical ethics. These
chimeras are made by man, not by nature. As stem cell technology
marches ahead, science now has the means to create creatures that
blur the line between humans and other animals. The specter of
a half-chimp/half-man or a mouse with a human brain is no longer
the stuff of science fiction.
The allure, from the biomedical perspective, is the hope that
such chimeras will provide a “hugely useful” tool in
biomedical research (Shreeve 2005). That’s why new guidelines
for research issued in April 2005 by the U.S. National Academy
of Sciences concluded, in a special section titled “Interspecies
Mixing,” that there were valid reasons for creating chimeras.
The moral minefield, as expressed by those closest to the debate,
revolves around the sinister potential for the creation of a human-like
beast trapped inside an animal’s body. There’s little
chance of this happening when chimeras are created by inoculating
human cells into an adult animal, but the risk is considered real
if those cells were transplanted into a fetus.
And there are other ways that “humanized” chimeras
might be derived. Irving Weissman at Stanford University (and StemCells
Inc.) is trying to create a strain of mouse that loses its own
brain cells just before birth. By transplanting human neuronal
stem cells into the brains of these mice, scientists could create
a mouse with a brain made almost entirely of human brain cells
(Shreeve 2005).
Clearly, moral restraint is called for. Yet more often than not,
concerns are expressed only with regard to potential human suffering.
Science isn’t likely to abide the production of humanized
chimeras, but what about the animals, who stand to lose so much
more in the chimera stakes? Modern studies demonstrate that they,
too, have thoughts, feelings, and experiences.
Animals believe, play, plan, anticipate, deceive, remember, and create tools (Griffin & Speck 2004).
They feel a broad range of emotions ranging from joy and excitement
to frustration and despair (Panksepp 2005) and they’re attracted
to the same environmental rewards (e.g., palatable food, social
and sexual contact) as we are (Balcombe in press).
Today, animals in laboratories routinely endure deplorably confined,
impoverished and stressful conditions (Balcombe et al. 2004) and
are subjected to experiments rarely in their own interests. Until
these conditions are improved and the animals are given a decent
quality of life, chimeras ought to be left where they are—swimming
in the ocean depths.
Jonathan Balcombe, Ph.D., is a PCRM research consultant with a
background in ethology. He is the author of The Use of Animals
in Higher Education, as well as many scientific papers on humane
life science education and animal behavior. His recent scientific
review showing that animal experiments are more stressful than
previously understood was published in Contemporary
Topics in Laboratory Animal Science.
References
Balcombe JP. in press. Pleasurable Kingdom: Animals and the
Nature of Feeling Good. London: Macmillan.
Balcombe JP, Barnard N, Sandusky C. 2004 Laboratory routines cause
animal stress. Contemporary Topics in Laboratory Animal Science.
43(6): 42-51.
Griffin DR, Speck GB. 2004. New evidence of animal consciousness. Animal
Cognition 7: 5-18.
Panksepp J. 2005. Affective consciousness: Core emotional feelings
in animals and humans. Consciousness and Cognition 14:
30-80.
Shreeve J. 2005. I, chimera. New Scientist 186: 39-43.
June 25.
Posted 8/1/05
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