Three years ago, there was a breakthrough in science when a group called PPL THERAPEUTICS created the first cloned mammal, Dolly the sheep. This group of scientists didn't stop there. On March 5, this same group accomplished another first right here in our area at Virginia Tech by cloning the first pigs.

Why did they decide to clone pigs? If you think it was to make fetal pigs for dissection more ample, then you are wrong. Think about why we dissect pigs. Scientists think that pig organs are very similar to ours, and that's why we dissect them in our Biology 102 classes. Scientists are hoping that cloning these pigs is a step toward finding a source of organs for human transplants.

If scientists can create five pigs that are exactly alike genetically, then they think they can alter the genes to be more like a human's. If the organs are similar enough to a human's, they can be transplanted and save a life. People won't have to wait days, months or years for an organ and potentially die while waiting. Organs will be readily available for anyone who needs them.

There are some drawbacks, though. Because the organs aren't human, there is a chance that a person's body won't accept the organ. Then, the organ will have done no good for the patient and can create problems such as the introduction of th new types of germs and diseases. Hopefully, the DNA of the pigs can be altered, so a human body will accept them, reducing the risk of new diseases and rejection.

Each of the five piglets were given a special name. There are Milli, for the new Millennium; Christa, named after Dr. Christian Bernard (the first person to perform a heart transplant); Carrel and Alexis, named after Alexis Carrel, who won the Nobel Prize in 1912 for transplant work; and finally, Dotcom, named such because association with the Net right now seems to have a very positive influence on a company's standing, explained Ron James, PPL's managing director.

Name: Jul
Comments:
I think the cloning of pigs is a good thing because we need more beef and chicken. Also, it saves lives.

Name: V
Year: Junior
Major: Biology
Comments:
Well, as a side note, making the pig organs more genetically compatible with human organs also raises another problem. By trying to make the human body accept the animal organs more, the problem of diseases opens up; those parts are rejected normally by the body for a good reason: to prevent the spread of inter-species diseases. By making the human body more accepting of these organs by altering the pigs (& other animals, etc) we open the human population to the possibility of a whole new host of diseases we are not prepared for.

Name: Brian Korte
Year: sr.
Major: Advertising
Comments:
I just don't know if this is exactly right. Bad things tend to happen when doctors play God and transplant organs from GENETICALLY ALTERED animals to humans. Let's not call these animals pigs anymore. Their genes are not the same. Now, I am mature enough to know that should I need a kidney or a pancreas, my tune may change, but I also think that I know how the world works. Breeding animals and genetically altering their composition is equivical to running a freak show, and I have serious doubts that this company, and any other company is FULLY prepared to handle every single complication involved. And anyone who thinks there wont be complications is wrong. Animals are the way they are because it is the way they have adapted. Who the hell are we to change in a 4 hour surgery what took perfection in a few thousand years? This is definitely something worth thinking about. Messing with genes is a serious ethical consideration. I just wonder if these "scientists" feel the same way.