Fwd: Interview With a Humanoid

[Guest guest]

FriendsForHealthNaturally, JoAnn Guest

<angelprincessjo> wrote:

Interview With a Humanoid

By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

 

The New York Times

July 23, 2002

 

DEFOREST, Wis. - In a secret, locked barn near DeForest, five

black-and-white calves look up from their hay with huge, friendly

eyes.

No. 313 approaches, as if to grant an interview, for these are not

the

ordinary bovines they seem - all five are part human.

 

The five calves are clones, which is eerie enough. In addition, human

DNA was added to their genetic makeup when they were embryos.

 

Their DNA is still more than 99.9 percent bovine, less than 0.1

percent

human, but the human component means that they are expected to

produce

a

human protein, C-1 Esterase Inhibitor, in their milk. That could

treat

humans suffering from angioedema, an ailment that arises from a lack

of

C-1.

 

These humanoid calves offer a window into a future in which lines are

blurred between humans and other species. Biotechnology is

transforming

the world around us, far more quickly than we can build a regulatory

structure to accommodate it. Human cloning gets the attention, but

for

the next 15 years the greater impact will arise from the genetic

manipulation of animals.

 

Infigen, a biotech company in DeForest, near Madison, has itself

cloned

193 cattle and 125 pigs. Jenny Endres, the manager in one of

Infigen's

barns, last week showed off a line of cow clones that all look alike.

" These clones have the same personalities, " she said, beaming.

 

Cows? Personalities?

 

" They bellow all the time, " she insisted. " They're hungry all the

time.

They're easygoing, friendly. "

 

Later this year the Food and Drug Administration may lift its ban on

the

sale of milk and meat from cloned animals. In the interests of

science,

I took a sip of cloned milk to see what might happen. Fresh from the

udder, the raw milk was warm and tasted excellent. (Then I took

another

sip with each of my three new heads.)

 

The possibilities are dizzying. Michael Bishop, Infigen's president,

says that cows could be engineered to produce extra beta casein,

which

would make them ideal for producing mozzarella cheese. Other cows

could

specialize in producing infant formula or even, by splicing in human

DNA, someday be made to produce torrents of genuine human breast milk

from their udders.

 

Infigen is already cloning cows with human DNA to produce products

such

as human collagen (cosmetic surgeons now use animal collagen to

create

fuller lips); human fibrinogen, used to treat wounds; and human

factor

VIII, used for blood clotting.

 

In a pig barn nearby, Mr. Bishop showed off his pride: a piglet bred

to

be perfect for producing organs for humans who need transplants. The

piglet has had a gene knocked out to reduce the chance that the human

body will reject organs from it.

 

Biotechnology faces crippling obstacles, including a drought of

venture

capital that will kill off plenty of companies. But eventually,

genetically modified pigs (perhaps slightly human in their genetics)

will be able to produce livers, kidneys, hearts and pancreases for

ailing patients.

 

These technologies could help the 80,000 Americans now on waiting

lists

for organ transplants. But there are also ethical and philosophical

questions about whether it is wise to blur the distinction between

what

is human and what is not.

 

Francis Fukuyama, in his brilliant new book on cloning, " Our Post-

Human

Future, " warns that we could face a future " in which any notion of

`shared humanity' is lost, because we have mixed human genes with

those

of so many other species that we no longer have a clear idea of what

a

human being is. "

 

My instinct is that the benefit in saving lives outweighs the risks.

But

Mr. Fukuyama is right that if we are to embrace this future, we must

do

so with eyes wide open. A first step would be to establish a

cabinet-level Science Department (replacing the dinosaur of an

Agriculture Department, which should be downgraded to an agency).

 

The Science Department would regulate biotechnology, but would also

be

charged with puzzling through its philosophical implications and

educating the public about our choices, acting as a sounding board

for

the nation. We must ensure that we consciously choose our future,

rather

than let advancing science drive us into one by default.

 

I sought a comment from Ms. 313. (In this newspaper even part-humans

get honorifics.)

 

 

 

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Health - Feel better, live better

--- End forwarded message ---

--- End forwarded message ---

[Guest guest]

Holy cow, I swear next life I am coming back as a piece of Spanish

Moss hanging upon a Live Oak tree that way I only have to worry about

air pollution & not all this other STUFF going on...

 

Better yet, maybe I shall come back as a windshield, for I am sure

tired of being the bug when it comes to food " products. " How can

they even call so much of this STUFF now days food?!

 

(Somedays you're a windshiled, somedays you're a bug!)