IT鈥橲 too promising to ignore. The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) is rethinking its stance on some research involving adding human cells to animal embryos.
Since 2009, the funding body has banned the creation of certain types of human-animal chimeras. Such work may be useful for growing human organs for drug testing, transplants and research. But it poses a number of ethical concerns, including fears that having human cells could make animals think more like us.
The 2009 moratorium banned human pluripotent stem cells from being added to early monkey embryos. Now, the NIH is considering allowing an expert committee to review certain types of proposed chimera work, on a case-by-case basis. It also plans to clarify some of the rules around early-embryo monkey chimeras.
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鈥淚鈥檓 confident these proposed changes will enable the NIH research community to move this promising area of science forward in a responsible manner,鈥� said Carrie Wolinetz, the NIH鈥檚 associate director for science policy. The changes could mean the ban is lifted in early 2017.
This article appeared in print under the headline 鈥淐himera ban review鈥�