TY - JOUR
T1 - The science and ethics of making part-human animals in stem cell biology
AU - Robert, Jason
PY - 2006/5/1
Y1 - 2006/5/1
N2 - The National Academy of Sciences recently issued voluntary guidelines to govern human embryonic stem cell research. Among other restrictions, these guidelines prohibit certain kinds of combinations of human and nonhuman animal cells, and call for ethics review and oversight of any protocol involving the transfer of human embryonic stem cells into nonhuman animals. In this essay, I discuss the history of and scientific rationales for combining human cells with cells of nonhuman animals, and critically assess the most recent attempts to limit such research on moral grounds - and find them lacking. Nonetheless, as I show, this research remains scientifically and morally contested. I then explore whether and how the NAS's recommended Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Oversight committees will allow for scientifically well-informed moral assessment of this controversial, but possibly important, research.
AB - The National Academy of Sciences recently issued voluntary guidelines to govern human embryonic stem cell research. Among other restrictions, these guidelines prohibit certain kinds of combinations of human and nonhuman animal cells, and call for ethics review and oversight of any protocol involving the transfer of human embryonic stem cells into nonhuman animals. In this essay, I discuss the history of and scientific rationales for combining human cells with cells of nonhuman animals, and critically assess the most recent attempts to limit such research on moral grounds - and find them lacking. Nonetheless, as I show, this research remains scientifically and morally contested. I then explore whether and how the NAS's recommended Embryonic Stem Cell Research and Oversight committees will allow for scientifically well-informed moral assessment of this controversial, but possibly important, research.
KW - Chimeras
KW - Ethics
KW - History
KW - Policy
KW - Stem cells
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=33744462886&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=33744462886&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1096/fj.05-4286lsf
DO - 10.1096/fj.05-4286lsf
M3 - Review article
C2 - 16675841
AN - SCOPUS:33744462886
VL - 20
SP - 838
EP - 845
JO - The FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
JF - The FASEB journal : official publication of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
SN - 0892-6638
IS - 7
ER -