Are Real Anthros Possible?
What are science's answers to the perennial question: "Could we create anthros in real life?" According to the material presented in Pr. Theodose's workshop, there are two viable approaches to the idea, one human and one animal based.
The human approach is essentially a very complex form of “restorative surgery”. Animal characteristics like muzzle, ears, tail and fur would be grafted onto a willing subject after they have been bio-organically constructed. To accomplish this, stem cell research is the most promising approach. The stems cells would be programmed to develop into the desired shape and then grafted onto a scaffold, a structure where the cells can be mounted on to develop.
Another method to create furry specific shapes is called bio-printing. It is similar to regular or 3D-printing but instead of plastic granulate or ink a cell culture would be used and applied layer upon layer into the desired form. The biggest challenges one would have to overcome when using these approaches is to connect the implants in a way that works with the existing human anatomy and enhancements would have to be made to the brain to allow correct movement. This could be achieved through implants or pharmaceuticals.
Scientifically feasible, ethically problematic
The animal-based approach would involve actual gene manipulation by injecting different genetic material into the ovum or sperm of an animal. One way to do this would be to include human genetic material into a retro virus. Using this would lead to a hybrid creature, a so called chimera. It has been successfully done with animals, creating a goat/sheep hybrid. There are various problems with these procedures, however. One would need a human surrogate mother, which would create even more serious ethical questions than the genetic manipulation process already does. Another problem is the unpredictability of the process. Results cannot be gauged in advance and the success rate in transgenetic cloning is 2%.
While the scientific background and methods are sound, their application is still largely science fiction. The surgical process would be costly, painful and it would take years, while the issue of genetic manipulation would raise many questions and no one as of yet can say what side effects could arise from such profound tampering with genetic code. Such challenges will be addressed in the second part of the workshop on Friday.
Author: Curry