LONDON - British scientists want a new expert body to regulate experiments mixing animal and human DNA to make sure no medical or ethical boundaries are crossed.
In a report issued today, scientists at the nation's Academy of Medical Sciences said a government organization is needed to advise whether certain tests on animals that use human DNA should be pursued.
Tighter regulation isn't needed for most such experiments, said Martin Bobrow, chair of the group that wrote the report. "But there are a small number of future experiments, which could approach social and ethically sensitive areas which should have an extra layer of scrutiny," he told reporters in London.
The group analyzed evidence from academics, the U.K. government, animal-welfare groups and others. An independent survey was also conducted to gather public opinion. It found people were mostly supportive as long as the work might contribute to the development of medical treatments that would be widely available.
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Scientists have long been swapping animal and human DNA. Numerous tests on mice with human genes for brain, bone and heart disorders are already under way, and experiments on goats implanted with a human gene are also being done to study blood-clotting problems.
Controversy erupted several years ago after scientists announced plans to make human embryos with the nucleus removed from cow and rabbit eggs.
In the latest report, Bobrow and colleagues concluded some experiments should be allowed only under additional monitoring from the new expert body and that a very small number of experiments should not be done at all.
Among experimentation that might spark concern are those in which human brain cells might change animal brains, those that could lead to the fertilization of human eggs in animals and any modifications of animals that might create attributes considered uniquely human.
Some disagree. "We think some of these should be done, but they should be done in an open way to maintain public confidence," said Robin Lovell-Badge, head of stem-cell biology and developmental genetics at Britain's Medical Research Council, one of the expert group members. He said experiments injecting human brain cells into the brains of rats might help develop new stroke treatments or that growing human skin on mice could further understanding of skin cancer.
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Visit the Academy of Medical Sciences Web site at www.acmedsci.ac.uk
