New rules urged on hybrid animal-human experiments

Scientific experiments that insert human genes or cells into animals need new rules to ensure they are ethically acceptable and do not lead to the creation of “monsters”, say a group of leading British researchers.

Researcher’s around the world are constantly pushing boundaries. Chinese scientists have already introduced human stem cells into goat foetuses and US researchers have studied the idea of creating a mouse with human brain cells – though they have not actually done so.

Such research needs special oversight, according to a report from Britain’s Academy of Medical Sciences on the use of animals containing human material.

Using animals with limited humanised traits is not new. Genetically engineered mice containing human DNA are already a mainstay of research into new drugs for aggressive diseases like cancer.

But Martin Bobrow, a professor of medical genetics at the University of Cambridge, who led the Academy’s working group, said there were three areas of particular concern. “Where people begin to worry is when you get to the brain, to the germ [reproductive] cells, and to the sort of central features that help us recognise what is a person, like skin texture, facial shape and speech,” he told reporters.

His report recommends that government should put in place a national expert body, working within the existing system for regulating animal research, to oversee such sensitive areas. British ministers said they welcomed the report and would consider its recommendations carefully.