Strange New World: Scientists Create Human-Pig Embryos

In a chilling experiment seemingly out of science fiction, scientists created two human-pig embryos — then destroyed them after a few weeks of growth.

The creations included human stem cells grown inside pig



embryos, with the cells constituting only a small part of the embryos. The scientists’ hope is that such recombinations could be used to grow replacement organs for humans that wouldn’t be rejected by the recipient’s body.

The controversial experiment was conducted in California and Spain, and paid for by private foundations. The U.S. suspended taxpayer funding for such animal-human combinations in 2015.