Future Chimera project for pre-school

I recently thought of this concept while studying genetic engineering.

now we all know that it is impossible to make two creatures...eg a monkey and a parrot produce offspring (the old fashioned way) as there dna is incompatible. However more recently scientists have been combining human dna in mice fetus brains, placing spider's "web" genes in sheep so that their milk contains the chemicals o humans can produce this webbing in large quantities.

Now it is only a matter of time before they start "mixing" more of animals with each other. (firstly you must not think of this as a bad thing, especially in th context i will be addressing below)


think of this. Pre-school children given their first science project; the ability to create their perfect pet. we all know how wild childrens imaginations can be. imagine children given the opportunity to create a "pokemon" type animal, totally unique and theirs to own.

perhaps a lizard-skinned cat that shoots spider's web? OK maybe a little too freaky for a child (this would work better for a teenager - any teenagers here think that would be cool?)

ok how about something as simple as a bright pink hamster???
or a dog with goat horns???

or a snake....COMPLETELY VOID OF POISON OR BITING TEETH!!! etc.....but that has fluffy cats fur (i mean the long cat fur) that looks like doogle from 'the magic roundabout' for example

I think it would be a rewarding experience for a child....to have created there own, unique life, watch it grow into the creature they created as a child, a memory of the past.

(perhaps which could then be catalogued for marketing at adults?)

Your thoughts??? this is not as far off an idea as you may think...

remember there are thousands of animals, foxes, owls, bears, lions, guinea pigs, bats. any dream pets for you guys??? i want to see what you can come up with!!!!


[edit on 30-4-2005 by Shadow88]

[edit on 30-4-2005 by Shadow88]

Yes it would be cool, but after learning how to do this the govenment would try to make (as they always do) 'a perfect soldier'.

And what is to stop them from combining a lepoard, snake, Lion, eagle, dolphin and to top it off a human brain?

There is no lenghth to the amount of destruction and devastation that the creatures that were created would cause?

Does the Making of kind gentle creatures outway the amount of dark evil devastation that the govement and alot more other people in this world would create?

O yes I dont doubt once GEtech gets to this level of sophistication there will be a military branch of research.

There will of course however be strict rules against or infact bans against anyone (probably except the military....sigh) using human dna.

i forsee that the merging of animal 2 human will be an entirely different debate than animal 2 animal.

there is already however research going into combining the healing abilities of lizards into humans, so we may grow back limbs etc.

[edit on 30-4-2005 by Shadow88]

The dna merging system would most likely be categorized:

• Class 1 - HUMAN MERGING - Access denied for all except Military or not without permission
  
• Class 2 - HIGH INTELLIGENCE - primates, dolphins, etc - Strict guidelines, requires board of governers consent
  
• Class 3 - HAZARDOUS - animals with claws, poisons, dangerous or deadly to humans - Only Non lethal characteristics permitted to be taken for merging
  
• Class 4 - MEDIUM INTELLIGENCE / NON LETHAL - Dogs, Birds, Cats, other lower mammals - Small precautions needed / access for public use
  
• Class 5 - Fish - Not recommended unless creature is predominantly aquatic
  
• Class 6 - Misc - Any that do not fit in the above guidelines - Subject to personal guidelines
  

can you tell ive put a lot of thought into this?

[edit on 30-4-2005 by Shadow88]

Check this out!

I would love to create a cool looking animal thing

wow what constructive input...... WHAT DOES IT LOOK LIKE MUPPET

Well, of course we'd all like to be able to create some creature of our own design, it'd be awesome.

Personally, I don't see the point. In kindergarten you aren't learning about any of the processes behind all of what you're doing, it's just making things the way you want them for fun and to then get bored of.

It makes more sense to have that be a final project for a college course. You could design it, and get tested on it, and then assuming it works and it's legal, have it created (as not everyone wants a pet). For the kids, I'd suggest sticking with the butterflies.

I really think the idea of splicing two animals together to get something new, will be outdated once the ability to make a completely new creature. Devoid of any characteristics 'stolen' from nature's animals. As I've said in some other posts, wait for the human genome to get cracked. Once we understand everything, what will stop us from doing the stated above.

you're probably right, well whatever happens when this tech reaches maturity it will be in most aspects of our lives (as everything currently been developed) the kindergarten idea was just one concept of many.

although doing it in higher education would, besides a good way to get into that field of work (presenting your "work" or "design"), be more rewarding for older children or young adults.

Even when we have the technology, it will be more risky to create a creature from scratch, as until the technology has reached its maturity, flaws or errors could be made when constructing an entirely new genome structure.

it would be less risky to use dna we already have at hand.

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Um, Shadow88, i think you are mixing up two different topics. Genetic engineering is NOT the same as creating a Chimera. A Chimera is a complete intermingling of two distinctly different sets of cells, one set from each species.

Chimeras bother me.

They are not either original species or even a new species altogether.

They are a complete intermingling of two different sets of cells.

The can not integrate themselves in either original species or go on to create their own species.

I am NOT a moralist, but this does bother me.

I have none of these particular qualms with GM organisms, or ever if someone created a new species.

Some people have proposed creating human and chimp chimeras for laboratory use.
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FYI the human Genome was "cracked" way back in 2000/or 2001
We have the entire map.

Now it is just a matter of going down the strands, studying the different bits and pieces, and seeing what pattern causes what traits/diseases.

Now if they can just splice human genes so that we could all enjoy the peresonal benefits of photosynthesis, that would be revolutionary, unless of course it causes herbivores to want to start eating us.

I have creature I'd like to make: Giant Squid+Spider+Eagle+Human+Cannabis Plant.
Oh yeah!!!

Slank not really, while currently genetic engineering is what is says, where you engineer the genetics of something artificially.

humans would be genetically engineering a hybrid species (nicknamed a chimera)

the concept of a chimera is where we take say.....the set of dna for the legs of a lion.....and replace it where the dna for the legs of a dog should go.....(obviously the proccess is a lot more complicated than i have stated)

As the genetic alterations take place when this "pre-animal" takes place before the embryonic stage, when it grows into a fetus and eventually an animal, the cells multiply and reproduce. the condition of the reproductive organs cannot be said as the proccess has not been done obviously but if you created two of this new hybrid (Male and female) genetically the same, two of the lion dog thing, then reproduction should be possible, as when it developed the combined dna multiplied.

As for the herbivor thing, whatever animal the brain cells come from, should decide what insticts the new animal has.

[edit on 1-5-2005 by Shadow88]

Given the fact that conservative 'christian' (with zionist intentions) groups control the majority of the western world, this will never happen.

How about a spider sized clown, or maybe a clown sized spider! oooh ooh wait

a shark that can fly and has human legs and maybe some big beefy arms, and he works out a lot, and he needs the eyes of a lion.

IM not in the west tho :d england baby!!!!!

How about bite-size politicians? Make 'em a lot easier to crush.

There'd be a whole new market for short people stuff! Like, mini-NBA!