Monkeying With Nature
A genetically altered primate could aid the study of human disease
Beyond the welfare of lab animals, ethicists also worry about the implications of moving genetic engineering into the world of primates, the group that includes humans. ANDi's arrival was more inevitability than surprise, but his hybrid DNA does underscore just how possible it would now be to start engineering humans, whether to prevent inherited disease or for some less noble cause. That may not be an immediate concern, however, since the technique requires considerable refinement. Schatten's team attempted to engineer a total of 224 monkey eggs, and ANDi was the only one of three healthy babies born that carries the jellyfish gene. The researchers still aren't sure if that piece of DNA is actually functional.
ANDi, at least, shouldn't have to worry about the issues he raises, whether technical or ethical. By and large, his career as an active research subject is over. For the rest of us, a new age of experimentation is just beginning.
Redoing monkey DNA
Scientists created the world's first genetically modified primate by adding a jellyfish gene to an unfertilized rhesus monkey egg. Here's how they did it:
[Drawing is not available]
1 Modified virus particles carried the new gene into the monkey's egg. The viral coat fell off, and the foreign DNA was inserted into the monkey chromosome.
[Drawing labels] Syringe; Monkey egg cell; Virus particles; Viral coat breaks away; Jellyfish gene; Monkey chromosome
2 A monkey sperm cell was injected to fertilize the modified egg, and the embryo was implanted into a surrogate mother.
It took scientists 224 attempts to produce one healthy transgenic monkey, born on October 2.
[Drawing labels] Nucleus; Monkey sperm; Monkey egg cell
Source: Gerald Schatten, Oregon Health Sciences University
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