OREGON, USA, January 11, 2001: In an attempt to discover vaccines for the prevention of disease and new medicines to cure an existing illness, scientists at the Oregon Regional Primate Research Center have produced a genetically modified monkey. They intend to modify future monkeys to react more as humans do to disease, particularly HIV. With subjects closely related to humans, cures using molecular medicine could be tested and the results documented. Animal welfare groups such as the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection are outraged. Spokeswoman for the group, Wendy Higgins, is reported as saying,”The end result is terrible suffering. For scientists to play God with primate genes is morally abhorrent.” However Professor Schatten, a researcher at the Oregon Center, claim that monkeys will only be used for research when a cure is imminent for the disease the monkey is carrying. The success with the monkey also demonstrates how close we are to genetically modified humans.
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