The latest focus of apprehension over the headlong rush of biotechnology involves the creation of animal-human hybrids, known as chimeras. Distinguished groups of ethicists and scientists have been pondering what steps should be taken, if any, to head off the nightmarish possibility of a human brain’s becoming trapped inside an animal form, silently screaming, “Let me out,” or a human embryo’s being gestated by mice. It is fascinating – some would say terrifying – to contemplate, but these weird, far-out possibilities should not distract us from welcoming more mundane experiments with chimeras that will be needed to advance science.
Office of Strategic Communication