Bringing back the Neanderthal

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ArrantPariah
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22 Jan 2013, 1:31 pm

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/scien ... 60273.html

Quote:

...A Harvard professor is looking for an "adventurous" woman to give birth to a baby Neanderthal.

It may sound like the plot of another Jurassic Park sequel, but the request is actually part of Professor George Church’s real-life plan to bring our long-extinct relative back to life. Professor Church of Harvard Medical School is one of the world’s leading geneticists and believes his Neanderthal bone-sample analysis is now complete enough to reconstruct their DNA.

Although the 58-year-old is not certain his plan would work, he says he is now ready to put theory into practice. Professor Church said: “Now I need an adventurous female human…It depends on a hell of a lot of things, but I think it can be done.”

Professor Church’s plan is to create artificial Neanderthal DNA based on the genetic code found in bone samples, then put this DNA into stem cells. These cells would then be injected into a human embryo in the early stages of life, and would be strong enough to steer the embryo’s development along Neanderthal lines rather than Sapien. After a few days growing in a laboratory the ‘neo-Neanderthal’ embryo would be implanted into the womb of the surrogate mother....

Would any of the ladies here be interested in gestating a Neanderthal? Maybe if the price were right?

I think that previous efforts to bring back mammoths were unsuccessful.

What say ye about the ethics of bringing back extinct humanoids?

Misslizard
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22 Jan 2013, 1:36 pm

The one in Encino Man adapted well :lol:

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androbot2084
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22 Jan 2013, 1:37 pm

How would a Neanderthal fit in with modern society? A Neanderthal would champion obsolete institutions such as marriage.

Janissy
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22 Jan 2013, 1:53 pm

Poor Dr. Church has been badly misunderstood. He said no such thing.

http://nextbigfuture.com/2013/01/george ... clone.html

Quote:

“Wanted: ‘Adventurous woman’ to give birth to Neanderthal man — Harvard professor seeks mother for cloned cave baby,” Britain’s Daily Mail exulted.

And Harvard University geneticist George M. Church, the scientist at the center of the viral vortex, says it was: Way too outlandish, and entirely untrue.

George blames a mistake in an article he says was written off an interview in the German magazine Der Spiegel, badly misinterpreting what he said — that such a cloning might theoretically be possible someday — and arriving at the conclusion that he was actively looking for a woman to bear a cave baby with DNA scavenged from ancient Neanderthal bones. He suggested poor translation skills may be part of the problem.

“I’m certainly not advocating it,” Church said. “I’m saying, if it is technically possible someday, we need to start talking about it today.”

He isn't trying to do it nor does he even want to. He just thinks we should discuss the ramifications of somebody someday doing it.

androbot2084
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22 Jan 2013, 1:58 pm

The Neanderthal would be against agriculture and would promote hunting instead.

CSBurks
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22 Jan 2013, 3:26 pm

Bringing back a neanderthal seems unethical to me.

What if something goes wrong and causes him to have a disease which causes pain and suffering?

Even if that didn't happen, he wouldn't really be accepted by most people because of his looks. That, too, would cause pain and suffering.

And who would take care of him? Would he be locked in a cage? He would be a sentient and sapient being. All of that just seems wrong to me.

androbot2084
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22 Jan 2013, 4:37 pm

A Neanderthal will be hairy.

Gromit
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22 Jan 2013, 4:45 pm

CSBurks wrote:

Bringing back a neanderthal seems unethical to me.

What if something goes wrong and causes him to have a disease which causes pain and suffering?

It's human cloning, whether it's Homo sapiens sapiens or Homo sapiens neanderthalensis. The ethical issues associated with disease are the same as for any other human, and they alone will prevent human cloning, whether modern or Neanderthal, for a good time yet. Mammals are difficult to clone, primates apparently more difficult than most other mammals. With the present state of the art, poor health would be almost certain.

Then you get the technical problem of assembling the genome from the ground up, instead of using an existing genome. That will delay Neanderthal cloning for some time beyond modern humans. Neanderthal cloning will only become a topical issue after both modern human cloning, and the resurrection of a few extinct mammals, perhaps the mammoth and at least one non-human primate. That's the only way to be confident about health issues, so I don't see Neanderthal cloning happening before then.

CSBurks wrote:

Even if that didn't happen, he wouldn't really be accepted by most people because of his looks. That, too, would cause pain and suffering.

Probably.

CSBurks wrote:

And who would take care of him?

The adoptive parents, until majority, same as for anyone else.

CSBurks wrote:

Would he be locked in a cage?

That would need the same justification as in the case of any other human.

Last edited by Gromit on 24 Jan 2013, 12:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

ArrantPariah
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22 Jan 2013, 4:55 pm

This would be one way to increase the number of Republican voters.

androbot2084
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22 Jan 2013, 4:58 pm

Yes the Neanderthal would be the champion of the traditional family values.

ooOoOoOAnaOoOoOoo
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22 Jan 2013, 4:58 pm

Sounds like more "shock the monkey" to me...

Magneto
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22 Jan 2013, 6:07 pm

It will be interesting if they can create Neanderthal stem cells though. We could see how their tissues differed from ours, potentially?

Of course, if you have widespread Neanderthal stem cell lines, someone might try to create an embryo from one and implant it...

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naturalplastic
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22 Jan 2013, 6:18 pm

androbot2084 wrote:

Yes the Neanderthal would be the champion of the traditional family values.

He would bring back some Old Time Religion!

Like the Cult of the Cave Bear.

No boy should be allowed to go to confimation, or bar mitzva, nor even to graduate from middleschool, until he single handily kills an adult grizzly bear!

And its good enough for me!

Gimmie that Old Time Religion!

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22 Jan 2013, 6:20 pm

Magneto wrote:

Humans should not bring back Neanderthals until they can guarantee Neanderthals will be treated with dignity and respect and will have rights. I feel sad thinking of what Neanderthal will have to endure here. They don't deserve this. Humans should let them RIP.

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22 Jan 2013, 6:29 pm

androbot2084 wrote:

A Neanderthal will be hairy.

Probably not. Chances are, Neanderthals were probably as far away from being apes as us.

-Bill, otherwise known as Kraichgauer

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