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A hybrid human speaks out I've taken to groaning out loud every time a media outlet runs yet another story on the UK's hybrid embryos debate. At least the newspapers have stopped pasting animal heads onto human bodies, and if newspaper editors can see sense, surely politicians should follow suit. Clearly not. In fact in the last 24 hours I've guffawed out loud at some of the ridiculous statements coming out of the mouths of those politicians who oppose the creation of hybrid embryos. "This is ethically wrong and almost certainly medically useless, or if not useless, there is no evidence as yet to substantiate it," said Edward Leigh MP, on BBC News last night. How many of the extraordinarily useful drugs we take for granted, or cars, aeroplanes and the lights in our homes would have been developed if there was "no evidence to substantiate them" during the early days of the research? Hey ho, we might as well give up developing anything that doesn't already work and go down to the pub then. Hybrid embryos may well turn out to be a waste of time. Initial efforts suggest that they can be created, but it may not be possible to make them survive long enough to extract the much-prized stem cells from them. But the potential benefits of stem cell research are so great that we must surely try. Then this morning in The Guardian, Leigh was quoted accusing Ian Gibson MP of "trying to blind us with science." How else is society expected to make judgements about these profoundly important issues? But at least the "hybrid embryos" debate has finally reached a head. Last night, 336 British MPs voted against the bid to block hybrid embryo research, versus 176 in favour of banning it. But what has irked me most about this whole debate is the idea that hybrid embryos are so perverse. These embryos contain 99.9% human DNA, and 0.01% animal DNA. Arguably I'm less than 99.9% human myself. Once you consider the billions of bacteria living in my gut and on my skin, the parasitic worms which may or may not be colonising my intestines, and the fungi causing the itch between my toes, I'm a walking menagerie. In fact, some scientists have estimated that the total number of microbial genes in the human body outnumber human genes by up to 1000 to 1. And increasing evidence suggests these organisms aren't just casual passengers, but affect how we perceive pain, shape our immune systems, and protect us from infections. Even aside from our biological passengers, we have to accept that we're all genetic mongrels, having gradually accumulated the same genetic material as millions of fellow creatures, including viruses, bacteria and houseflies, during the course of our evolution. Doubtless this sharing of our genetic heritage with our biological forebears, is what confused Edward Leigh when he declared having been told "by a scientist" that he was "80% mouse" and "30% daffodil". I'm not sure if either is true, but we do share half our DNA with the humble banana! In fact the "animal" DNA present in hybrid embryos is mitochondrial DNA - which is originally thought to have come from bacteria, which merged with eukaryotic cells some time in our evolutionary history. So in a sense we're simply being reunited with old relatives. Then there is the fact that these hybrid embryos are never likely to develop into creatures that walk the earth. They will be destroyed several days after their creation. You could argue that it is wrong to create human embryos that are destined for destruction, but then you'd have to oppose this whole area of stem cell research, not just the creation of human-animal hybrids. Finally, there are many other types of human-animal hybrids that are already being created - mice containing human brain cells, for example - which are not up for debate in parliament. Trials of insulin-producing pig cells which are injected into humans with diabetes have been approved for some time, but the main concern here has been the possible transfer of pig viruses, not the ethics of creating a hybrid. And if I were to receive an injection of these cells - or an injection of pig brain cells to replace those destroyed by Parkinson's disease, for example - would this make me any less human? Oink if you agree! Linda Geddes, New Scientist reporter Rayilyn Brown Board Member AZNPF Arizona Chapter National Parkinson Foundation [log in to unmask] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn