The title of this post is from a fascinating article i came across on MIT Technology Review. It is about a startup co-founded by George Church of Harvard Medical School, one of the most influential synthetic biologist, which plans to keep dogs “young” by using Gene Therapy. According to the article, similar trials have already been done on mice. Well, if all goes well, we humans could be next. (Read one here- MIT– You might need to subscribe to fully access the article)
Also on Life Saving– It is likely that you have heard about what some scientists have in mind… You are right! It’s about growing transplantable human organs in pigs and other animals! The first question that comes in mind is “what is going on here?” or “How is that possible?” Well it is possible. It’s all about saving lives. Of course it raises ethical concerns. And many of us are left to wonder if this is right in the first place? I can fully understand why the National Institutes of Health (NIH) was hesitant to fund this kind of research. However, on a Stanford Medicine blog, Hiromitsu Nakauchi, a Stanford Researcher Professor of Genetics, takes a different view on that and points out that these “animal-grown organs could transform the lives of thousands of people facing organ failure”. (Read on here-SCOPE) Read also on Financial Times and Japan News
Still on Life Saving– Producing human organs using technological instances is no longer a creepy issue. In fact, 3D Bioprinting has progressed so much to the point that a group of researchers from the University of Toronto have created a 3D printer that also prints skin tissue. How does that work and who may benefit? That would be a solution for many victims suffering skin issues such as skin burns etc. (Read on here-3D Print.com)
Again on Life Saving– Should we worry about human cloning? I recently read an article on the Guardian and i understood how big the business of cloning has become, especially since it has been tried and tested on animals. The article mentioned Barbra Streisand who revealed (to Variety Magazine) that she had had her two dogs successfully cloned. And as you can already imagine, she paid a price for it. A whole $ 50,000 for that! (You can read more New York Times here and here ) I also read about some Chinese Scientists, who claimed to have copied monkeys using cloning. (Read about it on NBCnews) I am still digesting that information. The cloning business is now taking a whole new level.- Some are already thinking of Human Cloning. The major issue however, is the ethical concern. Read more here-Daily Star)
Thanks for stopping by and see you next time
