Ethics of Research Using Hybrids, Chimeras and Cytoplasmic Hybrids Ethics of Research Using Hybrids, Chimeras

In stem cell research, creating and using human and non-human animal hybrids, chimeras and cytoplasmic hybrids, or “cybrids ” as they have been nicknamed, poses some of the most contentious and confusing ethical issues in stem cell science and policy. This confusion arises from different understandings of exactly what hybrids, chimeras and cybrids are. Clear definitions have yet to be firmly established although several authors have attempted to clarify the differences and even offer taxonomies with examples.1 In Greek mythology the chimera was described either as possessing the head of a lion, the body of a goat and the tail of a serpent, or as having three heads, one from each animal. Either way, the result was a deadly, repellant monster. This history sets the stage for understandin