researchers published a paper in the journal Cell announcing that they had successfully produced the first human-pig chimera—an embryo that contains cells from two genetically distinct species. The controversial study is the first step in growing human organs in non-human host animals for transplantation.
According to Hannah Devlin at The Guardian, the research was led by a team at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California. The scientists transformed cells from an adult human into stem cells, then injected those into early-stage pig embryos. These embryos were then implanted into female pigs where they were allowed to develop for three to four weeks, what amounts to the first trimester of a pig pregnancy.
Erin Blakemore at National Geographic reports that 186 of the embryos developed into later-stage chimera embryos. In each later-stage pig embryo, about 1 in every 100,000 cells was human-derived.
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Human-Pig Chimeras Created for the First Time | Smart News | Smithsonian