Brainless human clones ought to be ‘used for organ harvesting to avoid wasting lab animals’
Brainless human clones should be used for organ harvesting to save lab animals, campaigners say.
Billion dollar biotech companies have been pumping cash into the production of what they call ‘bodyoids’, which are essentially functioning but consciousness bodies, complete with a full organ system minus the brain. And now leading animal activists are backing the sci-fi sounding invention, arguing that using ‘human DNA’ for lab research could be a more ethical alternative to animal testing.
Speaking to the Daily Star, a spokesperson from the animal rights charity PETA said the organisation was backing the ‘pioneering’ research being done into bodyoid technology.
Dr Julia Baines, PETA UK’s head of science policy, said that while the tech sounds like something out of a “sci-fi film”, using “human DNA” was not just “possible” but “far superior” to using lab animals.
She said: “Today, millions of animals suffer in laboratories, experiencing pain, fear, deep distress, and the absence of comfort and companionship. Animal testing is flawed science, which is why pioneering scientists are working on advanced technologies – such as organoids – and exploring ways to otherwise replace the use of animals.”
She added: “PETA entities around the world are encouraging 100% humane research methods and strict ethical safeguards.” Dr Barnes added that the creation of bodyoids, or organoids as they are sometimes referred to as, would need to also be an animal cruelty-free process.
The expert said: “It is important, however, that when systems are built from human or animal brain cells, no animals are used to create new ‘beings’ that might experience pain or other harm.” While human bodyoid technology is still in development, industry experts hope that the futuristic process could be used in the near future.
Boston-based biotechnology firm R3 BIO has received several multi-million dollar investments towards its research into the creation of bodyoids. This includes from the American billionaire Tim Draper and Singaporean investment fund Immortal Dragons.
The CEO of Immortal Dragons, Boyang Wang, told US news outlet Wired that the firm hopes R3 BIO will soon be able to produce human bodyoids. He said: “We think replacement is probably better than repair when it comes to treating diseases or regulating the aging process in the human body. If we can create a non-sentient, headless bodyoid for a human being, that will be a great source of organs.”
Despite the overwhelming confidence held by some of its investors, R3 BIO has been cautious to plant the flag too firmly in the world of headless humans grown in labs. But its CEO did say that this bodyoid technology could prove to be a useful alternative to animal testing.
In a post on her blog, CEO Alice Gilman said that humanity had a need for ” human biology platforms” fully equipped with blood vessels, immune systems and more. She said: “We need . . .integrated, full-system human biology platforms.
“That means human cell-based models that incorporate vasculature, immune components, and endocrine signalling. Models that can metabolise drugs, develop inflammation, and respond systemically, not just in one tissue, but across many.”
She said that more investment is needed for that to be possible and for animal testing to become obsolete. “If we want to move beyond animal testing, we need to treat system-level modelling as national infrastructure”, she said.
“That means funding it like a public good, validating it like a regulatory standard, and building it with the urgency of a moonshot. The human body is not a collection of parts, it’s a system.
“We can’t keep studying diseases in pieces and hoping the results will scale. Whether we’re testing new drugs, mapping rare disorders, or training AI models, the biology we use needs to reflect the biology we live with.”
“Yes, this will be difficult. Yes, it will take time. But it’s the only scientifically and ethically defensible path to eliminating animal testing. Anything less is wishful thinking.”
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