150 human animal hybrids grown in UK labs

Figures seen by the Daily Mail show that 155 ‘admixed’ embryos, containing both human and animal genetic material, have been created since the introduction of the 2008 Human Fertilisation Embryology Act.

This legalised the creation of a variety of hybrids, including an animal egg fertilised by a human sperm; ‘cybrids’, in which a human nucleus is implanted into an animal cell; and ‘chimeras’, in which human cells are mixed with animal embryos.

Cybrids can be formed by the transfer of DNA from a human cell into an egg of a non-human species (eg bovine, a readily available and wasted resource from abattoirs) from which the nucleus and its DNA have been removed (enucleated).The word ‘cybrid’ derives from ‘cytoplasmic hybrid embryo’, but it is important to note that cybrids are not hybrids in the usual sense of the word. For this reason, a preferred name adopted in UK legislation is ‘human admixed embryos’

Chimera is an animal with cells from two or more original embryos. Chimeric embryos are formed when one or more cells are injected and integrated into another animal of the same (intra-specific) or different (inter-specific) species. In the past, researchers have created intra- and inter-specific chimeras respectively in laboratory animals for the purpose of tracing the fate of different cell types during embryonic development and to understand how different organs and tissues are formed. Researchers wish to insert human pluripotent stem cells into non-human animals at the blastocyst stage of development for the same purpose

http://www.issr.org.uk/issr-statements/cybrids-and-chimeras/