Irony
By Michael Reynolds | Related entries in Abortion, ScienceFor every time the word “irony” is used correctly, there are approximately three hundred incorrect uses. (No, it is not “ironic” that it rained on the day you had planned a picnic.) The following, on the other hand, is ironic. Read it and giggle nervously:
A new form of cloning has been developed that is easier to carry out than the technique used to create Dolly the sheep, raising fears that it may one day be used on human embryos to produce “designer” babies.
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One scientist said this weekend that a maverick attempt to perform the technique on humans is now too real to ignore. “It’s unethical and unsafe, but someone may be doing it today,” said Robert Lanza, chief scientific officer of American biotechnology company Advanced Cell Technology.“Cloning isn’t here now, but with this new technique we have the technology that can actually produce a child. If this was applied to humans it would be enormously important and troublesome,” said Dr Lanza, whose company has pioneered developments in stem cells and cell reprogramming.
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The technique involves the genetic reprogramming of skin cells so they revert to an embryonic-like state. Last year, when the breakthrough was used on human skin cells for the first time, it was lauded by the Catholic Church and President George Bush as a morally acceptable way of producing embryonic stem cells without having to create or destroy human embryos.
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These offspring are chimeras – a genetic mix of two or more individuals – because some of their cells derive from the embryo and some from the skin cell. Technically, such a child would have three biological parents. Human chimeras occur naturally when two embryos fuse in the womb and such people are often normal and healthy. Dr Lanza says there is no reason to believe that a human chimera created by the new technique would be unhealthy.
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“At this point there are no laws or regulations for this kind of thing and the bizarre thing is that the Catholic Church and other traditional stem-cell opponents think this technology is great when in reality it could in the end become one of their biggest nightmares,” he said. “It is quite possible that the real legacy of this whole new programming technology is that it will be introducing the era of designer babies.“So for instance if we had a few skin cells from Albert Einstein, or anyone else in the world, you could have a child that is say 10 per cent or 70 per cent Albert Einstein by just injecting a few of their cells into an embryo,” he said.
Or 10 to 70% Castro. Or Hugo Chavez. Or Osama Bin Laden.
But the great thing is that we won’t have “murdered” frozen embryos already slated for destruction. We’ll have made it possible to create the chimeric child of Michael Jackson, Kim Jong Il and Rosie O’Donnell, but we won’t have destroyed any already doomed frozen embryos. So Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and the Pope will be happy.
Perhaps because the three of them could now have a baby.
Now that’s irony.
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April 13th, 2008 at 8:53 pm
This would be in the realm of genetic modification of embryos, or embryo screening for desired characteristics. The Catholic Church (and I assume those right wing pro-life pundits) have always been against this sort of thing. Where is the controversy in that regard?
Are you saying that you advocate implementation of this technique mike?
April 14th, 2008 at 5:33 am
Jimmy:
This is the technique that Bush supporters hailed as having demonstrated Fearless Leader’s moral clarity and judgment. Now it seems it is paving the way for chimeras. Sorry, but that’s irony by any reasonable standard. Also a fine demonstration of the law of unintended consequences.
As for my personal feelings about chimeras, I suppose it comes down to whether we can grow a new race of superbabes.
April 14th, 2008 at 7:06 am
People’s desires for a brave new world is paving the way for chimeric humans, not Fearless Leader. Chimeric mice have been used in laboratory research for decades. This is just a new way to develop them after somatic-cell nuclear transfer has provided more effective methods of cloning. Before, they used to combine the stem cells of one embryo with another.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:20 am
Add one more to the not used correctly list. Jimmy is right, the Church is against the notion that human life is a commodity to be created for experimentation. The Church is also against cloning. Bill Clinton is also against cloning. What’s your point? “Paving the way” by allowing research that doesn’t violate human life? You might as well say they “paved the way” for nuclear holocaust by “allowing” atomic research. There’s no irony, the author is just another one of the 300.
April 14th, 2008 at 8:37 am
These, of course, would be perfect little mulatto progressive babies that come out of the womb with a smile and a unity message of change. ;)