The UK has produced 155 human-animal hybrid embryos and has been warned that this is self-destructive.

According to a recent report by the Global Times, in 2008, the UK passed legislation allowing human-animal embryo experiments, and the world's earliest human-animal embryo was actually "Made in China."

Human sperm mixed with animal eggs

The UK creates 155 human-animal hybrid embryos

According to a recent report by the UK's Daily Mail, in the past three years, British scientists have secretly created 155 hybrid embryos containing both human and animal genes.

This sounds like a plot from a science fiction movie, but it has indeed happened.

In 2008, the UK enacted the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Act, which divided legal human-animal embryo experiments into three categories:

First, the highest degree of human-animal hybrid: using human sperm to fertilize the egg of another animal.

Second, mixing human embryonic cells with animal embryonic cells to jointly form a complete embryo. The DNA of the two types of cells will not mix, and theoretically, a "monster" with an animal face and a human body could be born. This experiment is called "Chimera" (a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology that simultaneously has a lion's head, a goat's head, and a snake's tail).

Third, removing the cell nucleus from an animal egg and transplanting a human cell nucleus to replace the original animal cell nucleus. This experiment is called "cytoplasmic hybridization."

The Daily Mail said that the 155 human-animal embryos created in British laboratories belong to the highest level category.

Will the earth be controlled by half-humans?

The prelude to human self-destruction?

After the news broke, many media outlets in Europe and the US expressed shock. The New York Post even used the sensational headline "Doctor is creating half-humans."

Before the news broke, the British Academy of Medical Sciences had just issued a warning: "If the government does not establish a dedicated moral supervision agency to closely monitor every human-animal embryo experiment, the scene in the movie Planet of the Apes may become a reality." In Planet of the Apes, humans disappear in a nuclear war, and apes replace humans as the rulers of the Earth.

The Los Angeles Times said that for many people, the mixture of humans and animals is like a nightmare. If a frog had a human head or a monkey had a human vocal cord, you would understand why some people are trying hard to put the brakes on all cross-species cell experiments.

The British Academy of Medical Sciences calls this concern "Frankenstein fear" (Frankenstein is the scientific monster created by British novelist Mary Shelley, who pieced together a monster from broken corpses).

British scientist Baldwin warned that the experiments being conducted in British laboratories are "not progress in science, but the prelude to human self-destruction."

Some scientists who initially aimed to cure diseases feel "wronged," as they firmly believe that if successful, human-animal embryo experiments could bring miraculous cures to many terminal patients.

Expert: New species won't easily emerge

Human-animal embryos can survive in the world for no more than two weeks

Dr. Gao Shaorong from the Beijing Institute of Life Sciences said that the possibility of such experiments producing "half-humans" is almost zero. Whether in China or the UK, there are relevant rigid regulations: no human-animal embryo can stay in the world for more than 14 days, and no human-animal embryo can be implanted into the uterus of a human or animal.

Gao Shaorong said that in fact, even if a human-animal embryo is implanted into the uterus of a human or animal, it does not mean that a certain kind of monster will be produced, "Not any combination of two species can produce a new species."

British scientists said that when human-animal embryos are mixed, the animal cell nucleus has already been removed, and the new human-animal embryo contains 99% human genetic material, with only partial animal mitochondria present. However, precisely because of this, some scientists oppose the use of human-animal embryos in clinical applications, fearing that the animal genetic information present in the mitochondria could bring diseases to humans.

According to a report by the Global Times, a Chinese scientist who wished to remain anonymous said that in modern society, people should have confidence in technological progress and not overly focus on sensational headlines in newspapers. The vast majority of scientists challenging the boundaries of science do not wish to see humanity face disasters or self-destruction. In the face of science, there is a collision between humanity's thirst for knowledge and its sense of fear. When the public's fear outweighs the exploratory desires of scientists, technological progress will be affected, and if the opposite occurs, scientific progress will be promoted.

Many countries around the world are researching human-animal embryos

The first human-animal embryo was born in China

There are far more countries engaged in human-animal embryo experiments than just the UK.

In 2004, the United States transplanted human stem cells into pig embryos. Subsequently, scientists at the University of Nevada spent seven years cultivating the world's first human-animal cell hybrid sheep. Additionally, American researchers once allowed mice to possess part of a human brain.

The Los Angeles Times reported that in 2005, US Senator Brownback proposed passing the "Prohibition of Human Chimera Experiments Act" to "guard the boundaries between humans and animals, men and women," but it has not been passed to this day.

The Russian Komsomolskaya Pravda reported that in the late 1920s, the Soviet Union also conducted human-animal hybrid experiments, planning to create a group of super-strong, dull-witted, pain-free, hardworking half-humans to serve as "war machines" and laborers. Scientists used human semen to fertilize gorillas and gorilla semen to fertilize African women. They were unable to successfully create "war machines." The leading scientist was arrested and died in prison, and the research base staff released all the remaining hybrid creatures. Later, some elderly people in Georgia said they saw "wildmen resembling large apes" in the mountains after World War II.

Recently, a website of the French Catholic Church asked, "Is there such madness happening in France?" It also suggested that France should investigate whether there are similar "unthinkable" projects akin to those in the UK, because "crazy scientists are everywhere."

Many Chinese may not know that the world's first human-animal embryo was actually "Made in China." In 2003, the research team led by Professor Sheng Huizhen from Shanghai Second Medical University successfully fused human cells into the enucleated oocytes of New Zealand rabbits. Currently, China has ceased similar experiments.