Chimera Discrimination

First they came for the chimeras:

S. 659: The Human Chimera Prohibition Act of 2005

On March 17, Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS), introduced S. 659, the Human Chimera Prohibition Act of 2005. The bill would prohibit any person from creating, or attempting to create a human chimera. A “human chimera” is broadly defined to include various methods of mixing non-human cells into human embryos. The bill includes both civil and criminal penalties. S. 659 has no cosponsors and was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Seriously, how long is it before technology is running too quick for SF folks to keep ahead? Hopefully, this won’t pass in time for Stanford to birth some superintelligent human-brained mice:

Later this year he may conduct another experiment where the mice have 100 percent human brains. This would be done, he said, by injecting human neurons into the brains of embryonic mice.

Before being born, the mice would be killed and dissected to see if the architecture of a human brain had formed. If it did, he’d look for traces of human cognitive behavior.

Weissman said he’s not a mad scientist trying to create a human in an animal body. He hopes the experiment leads to a better understanding of how the brain works, which would be useful in treating diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s disease.

Note to self: under no circumstances should one ever say “I am not a mad scientist.”