Scientists at the Mayo Clinic succeeded in creating human–pig chimeras by injecting human stem cells into pig embryos; the resulting adult pigs possess hybrid cells containing both pig and human genes. The hybrid cells were also found to be infected with porcine endogenous retrovirus (or PERV), suggesting that xenotransplantation, the ultimate goal of such research, could lead to animal viruses jumping the species barrier to humans.
Scientists at the Mayo Clinic succeeded in creating human–pig chimeras by injecting human stem cells into pig embryos; the resulting adult pigs possess hybrid cells containing both pig and human genes. The hybrid cells were also found to be infected with porcine endogenous retrovirus (or PERV), suggesting that xenotransplantation, the ultimate goal of such research, could lead to animal viruses jumping the species barrier to humans.