For Patients Needing Transplants, Hope Arrives on Tiny Hooves
New York TimesFEB 25
This breakthrough represents a monumental leap toward solving the organ shortage crisis that kills thousands annually. Growing human hearts in pig embryos for three weeks proves the concept works and brings hope to desperate patients on transplant lists. The technology could revolutionize medicine by providing unlimited organ supplies.
These experiments raise serious ethical concerns about creating human-animal hybrids and exploiting animals for human benefit. The research involves genetic manipulation of sentient beings and could lead to unforeseen consequences, including potential viral transmission between species. Playing God with nature's boundaries demands extreme caution.
There's a 5% chance that the US will be the first country to embryo select >10% of its newborns for intelligence, according to the Metaculus prediction community.