Wanted: 'Adventurous woman' to give birth to Neanderthal man

[Raz]

They're usually thought of as a brutish, primitive species.
So what woman would want to give birth to a Neanderthal baby?
Yet this incredible scenario is the plan of one of the world’s leading geneticists, who is seeking a volunteer to help bring man’s long-extinct close relative back to life.
Professor George Church of Harvard Medical School believes he can reconstruct Neanderthal DNA and resurrect the species which became extinct 33,000 years ago.
His scheme is reminiscent of Jurassic Park but, while in the film dinosaurs were created in a laboratory, Professor Church’s ambitious plan requires a human volunteer.
He said his analysis of Neanderthal genetic code using samples from bones is complete enough to reconstruct their DNA.
He said: ‘Now I need an adventurous female human.
‘It depends on a hell of a lot of things, but I think it can be done.’
Professor Church’s plan would begin by artificially creating Neanderthal DNA based on genetic code found in fossil remains. He would put this DNA into stem cells.
These would be injected into cells from a human embryo in the early stages of life.
It is thought that the stem cells would steer the development of the hybrid embryo on Neanderthal lines, rather than human ones.

After growing in the lab for a few days, the ‘neo-Neanderthal’ embryo would be implanted in the womb of a surrogate mother – the volunteer. Professor Church, 58, is a pioneer in synthetic biology who helped initiate the Human Genome Project that mapped our DNA.

He says Neanderthals were not the lumbering brutes of the stereotype, but highly intelligent. Their brains were roughly the same size as man’s, and they made primitive tools.

Cloning the caveman: Geneticist Professor George Church
He believes his project could benefit mankind.
He told German magazine Der Spiegel: ‘Neanderthals might think differently than we do. They could even be more intelligent than us.
‘When the time comes to deal with an epidemic or getting off the planet, it’s conceivable that their way of thinking could be beneficial.’
Scientists say that his plan is theoretically possible, although in Britain, like most countries, human reproductive cloning is a criminal offence.
But Professor Church’s proposal is so cutting-edge that it may not be covered by existing laws.
However, experts worry that neo-Neanderthals might lack the immunity to modern diseases to survive, and some fear that the process might lead to deformity.
There is also uncertainty over how they would fit into today’s world. Bioethicist Bernard Rollin of Colorado State University said: ‘I don’t think it’s fair to put people... into a circumstance where they are going to be mocked and possibly feared.’
In a scathing reaction, Philippa Taylor of the Christian Medical Fellowship said: ‘It is hard to know where to begin with the ethical and safety concerns.’
He says Neanderthals were not the lumbering brutes of the stereotype, but highly intelligent. Their brains were roughly the same size as man’s, and they made primitive tools.

Cloning the caveman: Geneticist Professor George Church
He believes his project could benefit mankind.
He told German magazine Der Spiegel: ‘Neanderthals might think differently than we do. They could even be more intelligent than us.
‘When the time comes to deal with an epidemic or getting off the planet, it’s conceivable that their way of thinking could be beneficial.’
Scientists say that his plan is theoretically possible, although in Britain, like most countries, human reproductive cloning is a criminal offence.
But Professor Church’s proposal is so cutting-edge that it may not be covered by existing laws.
However, experts worry that neo-Neanderthals might lack the immunity to modern diseases to survive, and some fear that the process might lead to deformity.
There is also uncertainty over how they would fit into today’s world. Bioethicist Bernard Rollin of Colorado State University said: ‘I don’t think it’s fair to put people... into a circumstance where they are going to be mocked and possibly feared.’
In a scathing reaction, Philippa Taylor of the Christian Medical Fellowship said: ‘It is hard to know where to begin with the ethical and safety concerns.’


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I thought this was really cool and wanted to show you guys.

[NanTheDark]

It is, indeed, kinda cool.

It would be interesting to witness first-hand what these neanderthals can do. For some reason I imagine them to be like the saiyans from DBZ I guess they could be civilized and all... It's not exactly like cloning dinosaurs...

[CedarBranch]

I wouldn't take the risk. There could be some serious stuff we don't know...

[Blablob]

This is all fine and good, but I won't be satisfied until they bring back Megalodon.

[Raz]

Nope. Nope. Nope nope nope.
If they do bring back the megalodon, the ocean will go extinct. It'll eat humpback whales for breakfast.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ground_sloth
Would be cool to bring back.
Same for the Dodo, and the thycaline (ty the tasmanian tiger ftw)

[GrandPiano]

If it's really possible to bring back extinct animals, could a real Jurassic Park be possible?

[Raz]

Has Science gone too far?

[GrandPiano]

Will man someday travel time? Will man someday recreate life? Will man someday stop using the term "man" to mean all of mankind and not just the actual mean? Find out next time on 4D Science. Literally bringing science to a new dimension. (In fact, it is only broadcast in the fourth dimension, making it impossible to see, meaning that 4D Science actually doesn't exist in our 3D world. Note that when I use the letter D as an abbreviation for dimension, I only mean the space dimensions. Time is, technically, a dimension, so we do, technically, live in a 4D world, but if we took that into account, we would have to call it 5D Science, which could confuse viewers who are not aware that time is a dimension.)

[Dtroid]

If it's really possible to bring back extinct animals, could a real Jurassic Park be possible?

Should be.

Has Science gone too far?

No.

Will man someday travel time? Will man someday recreate life? Will man someday stop using the term "man" to mean all of mankind and not just the actual mean? Find out next time on 4D Science. Literally bringing science to a new dimension. (In fact, it is only broadcast in the fourth dimension, making it impossible to see, meaning that 4D Science actually doesn't exist in our 3D world. Note that when I use the letter D as an abbreviation for dimension, I only mean the space dimensions. Time is, technically, a dimension, so we do, technically, live in a 4D world, but if we took that into account, we would have to call it 5D Science, which could confuse viewers who are not aware that time is a dimension.)

[Raz]

*cough*