After seven years of debate, the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has denied a scientist a patent for a genetic chimera that is part human and part animal. The ruling was a victory for the scientist who was trying to create legal precedent against the creation of human-animal chimeras but it also raises serious questions about using the Patent office to govern emerging genetic technologies.
Researchers are debating the ethics of creating chimeras -- creatures that are part animal and part human.
North American scientists are considering whether to implant stem cells from a human embryo into a mouse embryo ? a controversial experiment that could result in a mouse-human mix reminiscent of mythological monsters.