Argumentative Essay On Chimera

Chimera, also spelled as chimaera, “is an organism or tissue that contains at least two different sets of DNA, most often origination from the fusion of as many different zygotes (fertilized eggs),” (Rogers) ¹. Chimera originates from Greek mythology which is defined as a fire-breathing female monster with a lion’s head, a goat’s body, and a serpent’s tail. Chimera is typically seen in non-human zoology and plants but has also been discovered in human beings. Human chimera can appear completely normal but have two distinctly different genetic structures in various parts or organs of the body – like when someone has two different colored eyes which is very rare. “Not long ago, researchers had thought it was rare for the cells in a single healthy …show more content…
Though naturally occurring chimera is quite difficult to see in an individual without a DNA test – like the woman at age 52 – it is very rarely described in humans, and it becomes more likely when a child is created in vitro …show more content…
That’s where ethical views come to play and where the controversy begins. There has been an addressed experimentation on embryonic cell stems by the US National Academy of Sciences. “In a section titled ‘Interspecies Mixing’, the authors concluded that there were ‘valid scientific reasons’ for creating chimeras - living entities composed of both human and animal cells. You may have seen mention of chimeras in the press recently. As stem cell technology pushes forward, expect to hear a lot more,” (Shreeve) ³. According to Shreeve, scientists have already made monkeys with brains that are partially human, mice with functioning human photoreceptor cells in their retinas, sheep with organs that are up to 40 percent human, and more. “There’s nothing sinister behind these experiments … but there’s no denying that organisms assembled by mixing humans and animals are troubling on many levels,” (Shreeve) ³. Suppose these scientists are successful in making an animal that 5 percent human – not too bad – but what if they made one that’s 50 percent human? Like Shreeve says, what if that animal comes out with human attributes? What does that mean in terms of ethical experimentation? In general terms of chimera, that would mean they would have to merge a human embryo with another animal embryo in vitro fertilization for this experiment. In

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