Human–animal hybrid
A human–animal hybrid and animal–human hybrid is an organism that incorporates elements from both humans and non-human animals. Technically, in a human–animal hybrid, each cell has both human and non-human genetic material. It is in contrast to an individual where some cells are human and some are derived from a different organism, called a human-animal chimera.[1] (A human chimera, on the other hand, consists only of human cells, from different zygotes.)
Examples of human–animal hybrids mainly include
Human-animal hybrids are the subject of legal, moral, and technological debate in the context of recent advances in genetic engineering.[3][4][5]
Human–animal hybrids have existed throughout
Terminology
Defined by the magazine
Throughout past human evolution, there has been interbreeding between archaic and modern humans. For example, Neanderthal genes accounts for 1–4% of modern human genomes for people outside Sub-Saharan Africa.[9] However, as archaic humans may not be classified as animals, such interbreeding is generally not classified as human–animal hybridization.
Examples
Artificially created human-animal hybrids include
Moral discussions
Advances in genetic engineering have generally caused a large number of debates and discussions in the fields related to bioethics, including research relating to the creation of human-animal hybrids. Although the two topics are not strictly related, the debates involving the creation of human-animal hybrids have paralleled that of the debates around the stem-cell research controversy.[3]
The question of what line exists between a "human" being and a "non-human" being has been a difficult one for many researchers to answer. While animals having one percent or less of their cells originally coming from humans may clearly appear to be in the same boat as other animals, no consensus exists on how to think about beings in a genetic middle ground that have something like an even mix. "I don't think anyone knows in terms of crude percentages how to differentiate between humans and nonhumans," U.S. patent office official John Doll has stated.[5] Critics of increased government restrictions include scientists such as Dr. Douglas Kniss, head of the Laboratory of Perinatal Research at Ohio State University, who has remarked that formal laws aren't the best option since the "notion of animal-human hybrids is very complex." He's also argued that their creation is inherent "not the kind of thing we support" in his kind of research since scientists should "want to respect human life".[3]
In contrast, notable socio-economic theorist Jeremy Rifkin has expressed opposition to research that creates beings crossing species boundaries, arguing that it interferes with the fundamental 'right to exist' possessed by each animal species. "One doesn't have to be religious or into animal rights to think this doesn't make sense," he has argued when expressing support for anti-chimera and anti-hybrid legislation. As well, William Cheshire, associate professor of neurology at the Mayo Clinic's Florida branch, has called the issue "unexplored biologic territory" and advocated for a "moral threshold of human neural development" to restrict the destroying a human embryo to obtain cell material and/or the creation of an organism that's partly human and partly animal." He has said, "We must be cautious not to violate the integrity of humanity or of animal life over which we have a stewardship responsibility".[4]
Legality
While laws against the creation of hybrid beings have been proposed in U.S. states and in the U.S. Congress, several scientists have argued that legal barriers might go too far and prohibit medically beneficial studies into human modification.[3][4][5]
In terms of scientific ethics, restrictions on the creation of human–animal hybrids have proved a controversial matter in multiple countries. While the state of Arizona banned the practice altogether in 2010, a proposal on the subject that sparked some interest in the United States Senate from 2011 to 2012 ended up going nowhere. Although the two concepts are not strictly related, discussions of experimentation into blended human and animal creatures has paralleled the discussions around embryonic stem-cell research (the 'stem cell controversy').[3] The creation of genetically modified organisms for a multitude of purposes has taken place in the modern world for decades, examples being specifically designed foodstuffs made to have features such as higher crop yields through better disease resistance.[12]
President George W. Bush brought up the topic in his 2006 State of the Union Address, in which he called for the prohibition of "human cloning in all its forms", "creating or implanting embryos for experiments", "creating human-animal hybrids", and also "buying, selling, or patenting human embryos". He argued, "A hopeful society has institutions of science and medicine that do not cut ethical corners and that recognize the matchless value of every life." He also stated that humanity "should never be discarded, devalued or put up for sale."[13]
A 2005 appropriations bill passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law by President Bush contained specific wording forbidding any patents on humans or human embryos.
A related proposal had come up in the U.S. Senate the prior year, the Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2007, and it also had failed. That effort was proposed by then-Senator Sam Brownback (R, KS) on November 15, 2007. Featuring the same language as the later measure in the House, its bipartisan group of cosponsors included then Senators Tom Coburn, Jim DeMint, and Mary Landrieu.[15]
A localized measure designed to ban the creation of hybrid entities came up in the state of
In fiction
For thousands of years, these
In various mythologies throughout history, many particularly famous hybrids have existed, including as a part of Egyptian and Indian spirituality.[16] The entities have also been characters in fictional media more recently in history such as in H. G. Wells' work The Island of Doctor Moreau, adapted into the popular 1932 film Island of Lost Souls.[7] In legendary terms, the hybrids have played varying roles from that of trickster and/or villain to serving as divine heroes in very different contexts, depending on the given culture.[16]
For example, Pan is a deity in Greek mythology that rules over and symbolizes the untamed wild, being worshiped by hunters, fishermen, and shepherds in particular. The mischievous yet cheerful character is a Satyr who has the hindquarters, legs, and horns of a goat while otherwise being essentially human in appearance, with stories of his encounters with different gods, humans, and others being retold for centuries on after the days of early Greece by groups such as the Delphian Society.[17] Specifically, the human-animal hybrid has appeared in acclaimed works of art by figures such as Francis Bacon.[8] Additional famous mythological hybrids include the Egyptian god of death, named Anubis, and the fox-like Japanese beings that are called Kitsune.[16]
Legendary historical and mythological human-animal hybrids
Beings displaying a mixture of human and animal traits while also having a similarly blended appearance have played a vast and varied role in multiple traditions around the world.
A prominent hybrid figure that's internationally known is the
In Chinese mythology, the figure of Chu Pa-chieh undergoes a personal journey in which he gives up wickedness for virtue. After causing a disturbance in heaven from his licentious actions, he is exiled to Earth. By mistake, he enters the womb of a sow and ends up being born as a half-man/half-pig entity. With the head and ears of a pig coupled with a human body, his already animal-like sense of selfishness from his past life remains. Killing and eating his mother as well as devouring his brothers, he makes his way to a mountain hideout, spending his days preying on unwary travelers unlucky enough to cross his path. However, the exhortations of the kind goddess Kuan Yin, journeying in China, persuade him to seek a nobler path, and his life's journey and the side of goodness proceeds on such that he even is ordained a priest by the goddess herself.[20] Remarking on the character's role in the religious novel Journey to the West, where the being first appears, professor Victor H. Mair has commented that "[p]ig-human hybrids represent descent and the grotesque, a capitulation to the basest appetites" rather than "self-improvement".[19]
Several hybrid entities have long played a major role in Japanese media and in traditional beliefs within the country. For example, a warrior god known as Amida received worship as a part of
Other examples include characters in ancient
Theriocephaly studies
"Theriocephaly" (from
- Horus features the head of a falcon.
- Anubis has a jackal's head.
- Egyptologists.
- Khonsu, (god of the moon disc) depicted as a man with a falcons head and or as a human child, both with a moon disc on top of the head.
Examples from other geographic areas include:
- Cernunnos, a historic Celtic deity, has been adapted as the Horned God in Wicca tradition.
- The Minotaur menaces people in Greek mythology.
- In some St. Christopher, get depicted as having the head of a dog.
- In Hinduism, Ganesha features an elephant head.
- In .
More modern fictional hybrids
Many prominent pieces of children's literature over the past two centuries have featured humanized animal characters, often as
The
Writer
The 1986
The science fiction film Splice, released 2009, shows scientists mixing together human and animal DNA in the hopes of advancing medical research at the pharmaceutical company that they work at. Calamitous results occur when the hybrid named Dren is born.[3]
The
Multiple video games have featured human-animal hybrids as enemies for the protagonist(s) to defeat, including powerful
Heroic character examples of human-animal anthropomorphic characters include the two protagonists of the 2002 movie The Cat Returns (Japanese title: 猫の恩返し), with the animated film featuring a young girl (named "Haru") being transformed against her will into a feline-human hybrid and fighting a villainous king of the cats with the help of a dashing male cat companion (known as the "Baron") at her side.
With general
Examples include Splice, a 2009 movie about experimental genetic research,[3] and The Evil Within, a survival horror video game released in 2014 in which the protagonist fights grotesque hybrid creatures among other enemies.[27]
-
The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck, a work written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter, features a spirited humanized animal as the title character.
-
Theanthropomorphicmouse girl.
See also
- Animacy
- Alyoshenka
- Anthropomorphism
- Bestiality
- Biopunk
- Chimera
- Furry fandom
- Gene therapy
- Genetic engineering
- Human–animal bonding
- Human–animal communication
- Human–animal studies
- Human enhancement
- Humanized mice
- Humanoid
- Humanzee
- Humster
- Hybrid
- Hybrid beasts in folklore
- Interspecies friendships
- Interspecific pregnancy
- Kemonomimi
- Legendary creature
- List of hybrid creatures in mythology
- Mary Toft
- Mythic animal
- Mythic humanoids
- Mythological hybrid
- Nephilim
- Otherkin
- Posthuman
- Talking animal
- Therianthropy
- Theriocephaly
- Transhumanism
- Trial of Thomas Hogg
References
- ^ Sarah Taddeo, Jason S. Robert (November 4, 2014). ""Hybrids and Chimeras: A Consultation on the Ethical and Social Implications of Creating Human/Animal Embryos in Research" (2007), by the HFEA". The Embryo Project at Arizona State University.
Hybrid embryos are embryos created by mixing human sperm and animal ova, or animal sperm and human ova. Human chimera embryos are human embryos that have had animal cells added to them during early development. … Lastly, transgenic human embryos are human embryos that have had animal genes inserted into them early in development.
- PMID 32578942.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Johnson, Alan (November 15, 2012). "Human-animal mix might become illegal". The Columbus Dispatch. Archived from the original on April 15, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ National Geographic News. Archived from the originalon January 27, 2005. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e Weiss, Rick (February 13, 2005). "U.S. Denies Patent for a Too-Human Hybrid". The Washington Post. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f "Arts: The Parahuman Sculpture of Patricia Piccinini, Posthumanity and What It Really Means to be Human". H+. October 11, 2013. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ a b c Taylor, Drew (September 6, 2013). "Leonardo DiCaprio Looks to Produce 'Island of Dr. Moreau' Remake". news.moviefone.com. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9781452905846.
just you watch! pan.
- S2CID 210982481.
- PMID 32578942.
- PMID 29411049.
- The Huffington Post. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ "President Bush's State of the Union Address – CQ Transcripts Wire". The Washington Post. January 31, 2006. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "H.R. 5910 (110th): Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2008". GovTrack. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ "S. 2358 (110th): Human-Animal Hybrid Prohibition Act of 2007". GovTrack. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ^ ISBN 9780231152952.
- ^ a b c Rev. J.K. Brennan, ed. (1913). Hebrew literature. Greek mythology, life and art. Delphian Society. pp. 169–171.
- ^ ISBN 9781291842951.
- ^ ISBN 9780231528511.
- E.T.C. Werner. "Myths & Legends of China". Project Gutenberg. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ Holtzclaw, Mike (October 24, 2014). "The sound and fury of 'The Exorcist'". Daily Press. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- news.moviefone.com. Archived from the originalon December 27, 2013. Retrieved August 8, 2015.
- ISBN 0-8047-4738-5.
- ISBN 9781472440723.
- ISBN 9780415970525.
- rogerebert.com. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ a b Dornbush, Jonathon (October 21, 2014). "Despite occasional brilliance, 'Evil Within' falls short of its horror game predecessors". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved August 6, 2015.
- ^ Maase, Jakob W., "Keeping the Magic: Fursona Identity and Performance in the Furry Fandom" (2015). Masters Theses & Specialist Projects. Paper 1512. http://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1512
External links
- "Chinese Human-animal Hybrid Embryo Experiments Have Been Interrupted" – Sina.comreport (in Chinese)
- "The First Individual Animal-hybrid Embryos Are from China" – Xinhua News Agency report (in Chinese)