She is pioneering the direct editing of mammals» genetic instruction books, or genomes, working to tweak DNA to make
pig organs more acceptable inside humans.
Not exact matches
As a result, he and other researchers have begun genetically modifying
pig embryos with the hope they will eventually give rise to
pigs that contain one or
more human
organs — the subject of his feature - length article «Human
Organs from Animal Bodies.»
That will involve adding human genes to the DNA of a
pig clone so its
organs will look
more familiar to a human immune system.
The Salk team did not report using CRISPR in the human -
pig chimeras to help the
pigs develop
more humanlike
organs.
He has a grant from a private foundation for the research, but the NIH award would have let him move
more quickly toward the ultimate goal: growing human
organs in
pigs for transplantation.
However welcome the recent announcement that a team of scientists based at Newcastle University, has grown a section of human liver using stem cells from umbilical cords, rather than from the
more controversial source of embryonic stem cells, and whatever the eventual promise or potential of harvesting
organs for transplantation from genetically modified
pigs, the benefits of either of these two pioneering techniques to currently dying / suffering patients, remain both elusive and distant.