Two independent research teams have successfully cloned pigs.

August 16, 2000 8:02 PM

Two independent research teams have successfully cloned pigs. The importance? Due to their comparable organ size, pigs are good candidates for farming transplant material. Pork bellies may be more than a commodity...
posted by Awol (4 comments total)

My belly is already too large.
posted by Steven Den Beste at 8:57 PM on August 16, 2000

Couldn't find where, but I just read that pigs were unsuitable for human organ growing because they carried too much disease. hmm.
posted by chaz at 12:37 AM on August 17, 2000

Yeah. According to this they're full of things called PERVs. Oh well. No organ transplants then. Still... bacon is gooooood.
posted by Nyarlathotep at 8:29 AM on August 17, 2000

I just read that pigs were unsuitable for human organ growing because they carried too much disease

Well, the worry is that there are lots of viruses that naturally inhabit porcine cells that do no harm to the pig, but the worry is that these viruses, living inside humans for extended periods of time, with the benefit of immunosuppressant drugs, could mutate into new human-borne disease-causing organisms. Certainly there's a chance, but they're still trying to figure out how serious it is.
posted by daveadams at 8:43 AM on August 17, 2000