Primate progress?

First primate clones

By Dennis Normile, Jan. 24, 2018 , 12:00 PM | ScienceMag.org


Chinese scientists have produced two genetically identical long-tailed macaques using the same technique that gave us Dolly the sheep, the world’s first cloned mammal. The feat is a first for nonhuman primates, and despite limitations, it could lead to batches of genetically uniform monkeys for biomedical research.

Previous attempts to clone monkeys through the Dolly method, known as somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), produced viable embryos but they failed to mature into healthy animals. The technique starts with taking the nucleus of a cell from a tissue like skin, and inserting it into an animal egg that has had its own DNA-carrying nucleus removed. That combination is then treated with enzymes that return it to an early embryonic state from which it can differentiate into every cell type in the body, like a just-fertilized egg. The egg is then implanted in a surrogate mother for development. Read more.


RELATED:

Scientists Successfully Clone Monkeys

BY LAUREN SPAGNOLETTI JANUARY 26, 2018 | PJ MEDIA

... But until now, no one has been able to clone primates, such as monkeys, apes, and humans. This achievement means that science is one step closer to being able to clone people — something that is generally opposed in the medical community because of obvious ethical concerns. Read more.


RELATED:

Human-chimp hybrids ARE possible and should be created to teach people how to respect animals, claims controversial psychologist

By Phoebe Weston For Mailonline, UPDATED: 13:02 EDT, 8 March 2018 | https://www.dailymail.co.uk

Our future offspring may be part-human, part-chimp.

At least that's the nightmarish vision of self-proclaimed expert, David Barash, a professor of psychology emeritus at the University of Washington.

Dr Barash says that not only is the creation of 'humanzees' possible using gene editing, but producing such creatures would be a 'terrific idea'. Read more.

Teeth News

‘Tooth repair drug’ may replace fillings

James Gallagher, Health and science reporter, BBC News website, 9 January 2017

Teeth by David Shankbone.jpg
By I, DavidShankbone, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Teeth can be encouraged to repair themselves in a way that could see an end to fillings, say scientists.

The team at King's College London showed that a chemical could encourage cells in the dental pulp to heal small holes in mice teeth.

A biodegradable sponge was soaked in the drug and then put inside the cavity. The study, published in Scientific Reports, showed it led to “complete, effective natural repair.” Read more.

 

A ‘Chipped’ Tooth Reveals What You Eat and Drink

Chip in tooth tells on you

WEDNESDAY, March 28, 2018 (HealthDay News)

Tempted to cheat on your diet? You might want to think twice.

Tiny tooth-mounted sensors can now provide real-time information about what you eat and drink.

The technology could prove important in health care and clinical studies, according to the Tufts University School of Engineering team that developed it.

The flexible, 2-millimeter sensors communicate wirelessly with a mobile device to provide information about a person's intake of sugar, salt and alcohol. Read more.

Angel fish
Public Domain, Link

...and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind ... the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind ...the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good. -Genesis 1

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A SistersSite eBook

Flesh and Bone and The Protestant Conscience is an e-book on Amazon.com. It is 99¢ and in the Amazon lending library as well. It is also available here in PDF format. The book description follows.

Would you let your conscience be your guide?

Does God care if the skin and bone of the dead are passed along to the living for medical uses? Is organ donation OK with God? Should you sign a Living Will?

Did you know that dead organ donors are often anesthetized before their organs are removed? Do you know the current definition of death? The conscience cannot function without facts.

As we ponder the ethics of in vitro fertilization, stem cell research and man-made chimeras, our thoughts trail off. How then should we live? (Ez 33:10)

How should a Christian think about euthanasia by starvation when doctors and the state attorney general all agree it is time to withhold feeding from a brain injured patient? Some things are family matters, but someday it may be our family.

Here is a small book to help you think about whether you want to sign your driver's license, donate a kidney, cremate your loved one, and many other practical questions that may arise in the course of your healthcare decisions or watch over others.

It offers a special focus on the doctrine of the Resurrection that is related to such decisions. Sunday School classes and Bible Study groups could use this book to facilitate discussion about the issues covered.