Unholy Amalgamations

Britain allows creation of human-animal embryos

Thu Jan 17, 3:30 PM ET

Britain's fertility regulator said Thursday it would allow scientists to create human-animal hybrid embryos for research.

The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) approved applications from two universities to create "cytoplasmic" embryos, which merge human cells with eggs from animals such as cattle or rabbits.

Scientists argue the research could pave the way for therapies for diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, although opponents condemned the HFEA's decision Thursday as a "disastrous setback for human dignity".

"An HFEA licence committee has considered two applications, from King's College London and Newcastle University, to carry out research using human-animal cytoplasmic hybrid embryos," the authority said in a statement.

"The HFEA licence committee determined that the two applications satisfied all the requirements of the law and has now offered one-year research licences to the two applicants, subject to a series of detailed conditions in each case."

Researchers want to produce hybrids that are 99.9 percent human and 0.1 percent animal.

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