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Why scientists created a human-chicken hybrid embryo
ONE of the biggest mysteries of human life is how we develop from a tiny ball of cells into a being with bones, muscle and organs.
The process starts in- side the mother’s womb shortly after conception, but legal and regulatory restrictions on research involving human embry- onic tissue have stymied scientists’ efforts to ex- plain the process.
Now scientists have found a workaround.
By transplanting hu- man embryonic cells onto chicken embryos, researchers at Rockefel- ler University in New York City have created a hybrid embryo they say will bring insights into foetal development — and perhaps lead to new cures for sev- eral diseases — without bumping up against the so-called ‘14-day rule’ that prohibits research on human embryos more than two weeks old.
Popular media blasted the interspecies mash- up, with one headline reading ‘Half human- half chicken abomina- tion created in US lab’, even though no one is talking about creating a race of human-chicken beings.
And the scientists de- fend their work, saying the hybrid embryo will help them understand why some human cells grow into the brain and nervous system, for example, while oth-
ers form the trunk and limbs.
Ali Brivanlou, head of the university’s Labora- tory of Stem Cell Biol- ogy and Molecular Em- bryology and the leader of the research said, “We know a lot about the development of a human embryo from a single cell to about 200- 300 cells by the time it’s transplanted into the mother at the end of the first week.”
“But for the second week and beyond when the body axis, the struc- tures of the head start forming, and these ma- jor decisions are made, it’s a black box.”
Eric Siggia, a profes- sor of developmental biology at Rockefeller and another scientist in- volved in the research, said while there’s no proof hybrid embryos will behave in the same way as their human-only counterparts, this hybrid system is the next best thing.
“It’s a compromise to gain some data on this unknown aspect of hu- man development in a socially responsible yet scientifically valid way,” he said.
But not everyone is on board with the idea of mashing up cells in this way.
New York University professor of bioeth- ics Arthur Caplan said, “They seem to think this is a wonderful solu- tion, but I think they are
just creating a different problem.”
“While in their case they’re not making a half-man, half-chicken, many politicians will be unnerved that other peo- ple could take this and it could be turned into potential cross-species creatures.
“Engineering unnatu- ral things with your genetic knowledge is touching one of people’s deepest fears.
“It’s like Franken- stein.”
Caplan says a better solution would be if sci- entists were allowed to conduct research on hu- man embryos discarded from IVF clinics.
“There are hundreds of thousands of these excess embryos which are left unwanted due to couples who wanted children divorcing or destabilising or even dy- ing in the meantime,” he said.
“At the moment they’re just in freezers, and no one knows what to do with them.”
For now, it seems like- ly scientists will pursue research on the human- chicken hybrid embryos.
The Rockefeller scien- tists plan to use them for research on Hunting- ton’s disease, a deadly neurological disorder.
The mutant gene that causes Huntington’s is already at work in the earliest stages of embry- onic development, and the scientists say under-
standing how it affects the first few weeks of life could lead to new treatments, possibly within a decade.
The scientists also hope to use the hybrid embryos to find cures for other complex diseases caused in part by mutant genes, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig’s disease) and Alzheimer’s.
To study Huntington’s disease, Brivanlou is planning to insert the mutant gene into hybrid embryos to see how their subsequent devel- opment differs from that of hybrid embryos that lack the gene.
Ultimately, he hopes it will be possible to iden- tify drugs that might counteract the abnormal developmental process- es and enable humans with the gene to develop normally.
“For every disease where the problem genes are expressed ear- ly on in human embry- onic development, but the symptoms develop many decades later in life, it would be a good idea to start attacking the problem sooner,” Brivanlou said.
“In my opinion, this could change reproduc- tive medicine.
“If we’re able to find out what goes wrong early on, maybe we have a better chance of cur- ing it.”
Originally published at nbcnews.com
KFC goes vegetarian with plans to test plant-based chicken
KFC plans to sell a veg- etarian equivalent of its famous chicken.
The company’s unit in the United Kingdom and Ireland recently an- nounced it plans to test the faux chicken with custom- ers later this year.
If successful, it could launch the product in 2019.
The move isn’t being billed as a concession to animal-rights activists.
Rather, the vegetarian option is part of a plan to reduce calories by 20 per- cent per serving by 2025.
The vegetarian option is believed to be the first time a major fast food chain is putting fake chicken on the menu.
“We always look to re- spond to the latest chang- es in lifestyle and dining habits of our customers and a key part of that for our business in the UK is offering lighter op- tions and more choice,” the company said in an e-mail.
“That’s why we’re look- ing into vegetarian op- tions that would offer the great taste of KFC to new and existing customers who are changing their dining habits.”
KFC UK and Ireland’s foray into vegetarian dish- es stems from a growing trend not just in Europe, but also in the US.
More people want to have healthier lifestyles and to know what’s in their food, experts say.
Consumers increasing- ly seek out organic and less-processed foods, while those with con- cerns about antibiotics in meat and poultry and animal welfare are turn- ing to plant-based alter- natives.
About 14 percent of US consumers, or 43 mil- lion people, regularly use plant-based alternatives to traditional foods, such as almond milk, tofu and veggie burgers, accord- ing to research firm NPD Group.
Of those, 86 percent don’t consider themselves vegan or vegetarian.
Other big chains are try- ing their hand at faux ani- mal proteins, too.
In April, White Castle introduced a plant-based equivalent of its Cheese Slider, made with Impos- sible Foods plant-based meat.
It’s for sale in the New York, New Jersey and greater Chicago areas, but the burger chain said it could be available nation- ally later on.
And late last year, Mc-
Donald’s added its faux beef burger, called the McVegan, to menus in Sweden and Finland.
In February, Ikea an- nounced it would start selling vegetarian hot dogs in Malmo, Sweden, with plans to bring them to the rest of Europe in August and the US in 2019.
In 2015, the company added a vegan equivalent of its iconic meatballs to itsmenu.
Orlando-based global restaurant consultant Aar- on Allen predicts large restaurant companies will increasingly unveil more vegetarian options, like KFC’s.
“How sharply has veg- etarianism increased in the US?” he said.
“Double and triple dig- its.
“We’re talking about millions of people dra- matically changing their diets.
“Chains will take note of that and change their menu offerings.”
Originally published at usatoday.com
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National Poultry Newspaper, June 2018 – Page 7