Animals with human DNA
It was one of the great comedy sketch moments from Not the Nine O’Clock News. Mel Smith is a scientist on a talk-show, sitting next to a gorilla (Rowan Atkinson in a costume) and begins explaining how he has taught him to speak.
Smith: “When I caught Gerald in ‘68 he was completely wild.”
Gerald/Atkinson: “Wild. I was absolutely livid.”
Funny, yes, and truly far-fetched, but experiments on animals that lead to possible human characteristics are something the Academy of Medical Sciences has spent nearly two years considering.
It looked at the vast and growing area of research involving the insertion of human DNA or cells into animals.
This sort of research has been going on for decades. It can involve a single gene being inserted in a mouse genome, or the transplantation of human cells or tissue into animals, creating what are known as chimaeras.
The point is to study human development and disease - anything from cancer, stroke or dementia to Down’s syndrome.
People know that experimentation on animals takes place, but probably very few know much about this area. The academy commissioned a consortium led by the polling organisation Ipsos Mori to look at public opinion.