BEIJING — These little piggies had some crazy scientists genetically engineer them with a bunch of monkey DNA in China.<br /><br />According to New Scientist, pig-primate chimeras were created by a team in China. The two piglets resembled normal pigs on the outside, but they also had a proportion of their cells derived from cynomolgus monkeys. <br />According to Tang Hai at the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology in Beijing, "this is the first report of full-term pig-monkey chimeras." <br />The goal of the mad scientists is to grow human organs in animals for transplantation.<br />Unfortunately, the research has a long way to go as both little piggies died within a week. <br />The Chinese researchers genetically modified cynomolgus monkey cells growing in culture so they made a fluorescent protein called GFP, allowing them to track the cells and their descendents. <br /><br />The team then derived embryonic stem cells from the modified cells and jammed them into pig embryos five days after fertilization. <br />Over 4000 embryos were implanted into sows with ten piglets born as a result of which two where chimeras. All became bacon within a week. <br /><br />The Chinese scientists now say they are trying to engineer healthier animals with a higher proportion of monkey cells. <br /><br />But in the meantime, might as well just continue harvesting organs from the totally unwilling.
