Transhumanism

Transhumanism sounds like a Sci-fi word that is very far in the future but in reality scientists are already making groundbreaking discoveries. They even have a road map of where the evolution of immortality is going. There is a website called 2045.  http://2045.com/

This is not just a website this is the group’s page that they are using as a social networking site to create communication between the scientists, donors, contributors, of these ideas. This is also a hub of all things related to the work and information of transhumanism.  I will be covering some of the information of transhumanism here but for more information on this subject see the video that covers this subject. https://youtu.be/AYglPwgDBwQ

There are many factors that will determine how transhumanism proceeds. As of August 4 a ban that had been put in place currently will be lifted slightly. Here is what Nature.com reports on this newest piece of information: Since September 2015, researchers have been banned from receiving funding from the US National Institutes of Health (NIH) for adding human stem cells to animal embryos, creating blends called chimaeras. But a proposal by the NIH released on 4 August would lift the funding moratorium, except for certain situations. It would also set up a panel to review the ethics and oversight of grant applications.

The new rules shorten the developmental window during which human cells can be introduced into non-human primate embryos, disallowing it before the stage of development in which the central nervous system begins to form. This is intended to limit the number of human cells that would make up the chimaera’s brain. They also prohibit breeding animals that contain human cells, so as to prevent a human-like embryo from growing in a non-human womb or the birth of an animal that is more humanized than its parents. To see more information about the subitilities of this new law go to: http://www.nature.com/news/us-agency-lifts-ban-on-funding-human-animal-hybrids-1.20379

As you can see the biggest concern is not what can be done to humans but what has to be watched in regards to animals. Chimaeras are the biggest area of research currently. A genetic chimerism or chimera (also spelled chimaera) is a single organism composed of cells from different zygotes. This can result in male and female organs, two blood types, or subtle variations in form.[1]

Animal chimeras are produced by the merger of multiple fertilized eggs. In plant chimeras, however, the distinct types of tissue may originate from the same zygote, and the difference is often due to mutation during ordinary cell division. Normally, genetic chimerism is not visible on casual inspection; however, it has been detected in the course of proving parentage. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chimera_(genetics)

“Chimaeras are a growing area of research. Currently, researchers use them to study early embryonic development and to create animal models of human diseases. But one major goal is to engineer animals to grow human organs. The organs could later be harvested from the adult animal and used for transplantation into a patient.” This is more from the article that is at  Nature.com.

For more information on the law concerning human hybrids see the video: https://youtu.be/GIMvp9G1K6I

Unlike in the United States, it is illegal to perform such research without approval in the United Kingdom, even with private funding. Laws introduced in the United Kingdom in January mandate extra reviews of proposals involving certain types of chimaeras, including ones that would have a human appearance or features such as faces or hands.