Chinese scientists have successfully bred monkey-pig hybrids as part of research into growing human organs for transplantation in animals.
Although the two chimera piglets died within a week of being born, both were found to have DNA from macaque monkeys in their heart, liver, spleen, lung and skin.
They were bred from more than 4,000 embryos which were implanted into a sow using IVF, according to a study report by the New Scientist.
A team from the State Key Laboratory of Stem Cell and Reproductive Biology in Beijing genetically modified monkey cells to produce a fluorescent protein allowing the researchers to track the cells and descendant cells.
These modified cells were injected into the pig embryos five days after fertilisation.
1/20 Jackdaws can identify ‘dangerous’ humans
Jackdaws can identify “dangerous” humans from listening to each other’s warning calls, scientists say.
The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter.
In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or “contact calls” (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average.
Getty
2/20 Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking
The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females.
But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the “Goldilocks Zone” which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal
Ye et al/Current Biology
3/20 Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa
African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found.
It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017.
Reuters
4/20 Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru
Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planet’s oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago
A. Gennari
5/20 Animal with transient anus discovered
A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a “transient anus” that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste
Steven G Johnson
6/20 Giant bee spotted
Feared extinct, the Wallace’s Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands
Clay Bolt
7/20 New mammal species found inside crocodile
Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal
New Mexico Museum of Natural History
8/20 Fabric that changes according to temperature created
Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold
Faye Levine, University of Maryland
9/20 Baby mice tears could be used in pest control
A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males
Getty
10/20 Final warning to limit “climate catastrophe”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase
Getty
11/20 Nobel prize for evolution chemists
The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies
Getty/AFP
12/20 Nobel prize for laser physicists
The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his “optical tweezers” which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers
Reuters/AP
13/20 Discovery of a new species of dinosaur
The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means “a giant thunderclap at dawn”
Viktor Radermacher / SWNS
14/20 Birth of a planet
Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever.
This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star.
ESO/A. Müller et al
15/20 New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists
Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the “interstitium”.
These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins
Getty
16/20 Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists
Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest.
These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs
José Iriarte
17/20 One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds
More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test.
Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly.
Getty
18/20 Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter’s great red spot
The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image’s colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth.
Pictures by: Tom Momary
19/20 A 3D reconstruction of an African grey parrot post euthanasia
Included in Wellcome Image Awards, this 3D image of an African grey parrot shows the highly intricate system of blood vessels.
Scott Birch. Wellcome Images
20/20 Baby Hawaiian bobtail squid
Another Wellcome Images Award winner, this time of baby Hawaiian bobtail squid. The black ink sac and light organ in the centre of the squid’s mantle cavity can be clearly seen.
Macroscopic Solutions. Wellcome Images
1/20 Jackdaws can identify ‘dangerous’ humans
Jackdaws can identify “dangerous” humans from listening to each other’s warning calls, scientists say.
The highly social birds will also remember that person if they come near their nests again, according to researchers from the University of Exeter.
In the study, a person unknown to the wild jackdaws approached their nest. At the same time scientists played a recording of a warning call (threatening) or “contact calls” (non-threatening). The next time jackdaws saw this same person, the birds that had previously heard the warning call were defensive and returned to their nests more than twice as quickly on average.
Getty
2/20 Turtle embryos influence sex by shaking
The sex of the turtle is determined by the temperatures at which they are incubated. Warm temperatures favour females.
But by wiggling around the egg, embryos can find the “Goldilocks Zone” which means they are able to shield themselves against extreme thermal conditions and produce a balanced sex ratio, according to the new study published in Current Biology journal
Ye et al/Current Biology
3/20 Elephant poaching rates drop in Africa
African elephant poaching rates have dropped by 60 per cent in six years, an international study has found.
It is thought the decline could be associated with the ivory trade ban introduced in China in 2017.
Reuters
4/20 Ancient four-legged whale discovered in Peru
Scientists have identified a four-legged creature with webbed feet to be an ancestor of the whale. Fossils unearthed in Peru have led scientists to conclude that the enormous creatures that traverse the planet’s oceans today are descended from small hoofed ancestors that lived in south Asia 50 million years ago
A. Gennari
5/20 Animal with transient anus discovered
A scientist has stumbled upon a creature with a “transient anus” that appears only when it is needed, before vanishing completely. Dr Sidney Tamm of the Marine Biological Laboratory could not initially find any trace of an anus on the species. However, as the animal gets full, a pore opens up to dispose of waste
Steven G Johnson
6/20 Giant bee spotted
Feared extinct, the Wallace’s Giant bee has been spotted for the first time in nearly 40 years. An international team of conservationists spotted the bee, that is four times the size of a typical honeybee, on an expedition to a group of Indonesian Islands
Clay Bolt
7/20 New mammal species found inside crocodile
Fossilised bones digested by crocodiles have revealed the existence of three new mammal species that roamed the Cayman Islands 300 years ago. The bones belonged to two large rodent species and a small shrew-like animal
New Mexico Museum of Natural History
8/20 Fabric that changes according to temperature created
Scientists at the University of Maryland have created a fabric that adapts to heat, expanding to allow more heat to escape the body when warm and compacting to retain more heat when cold
Faye Levine, University of Maryland
9/20 Baby mice tears could be used in pest control
A study from the University of Tokyo has found that the tears of baby mice cause female mice to be less interested in the sexual advances of males
Getty
10/20 Final warning to limit “climate catastrophe”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has issued a report which projects the impact of a rise in global temperatures of 1.5 degrees Celsius and warns against a higher increase
Getty
11/20 Nobel prize for evolution chemists
The nobel prize for chemistry has been awarded to three chemists working with evolution. Frances Smith is being awarded the prize for her work on directing the evolution of enzymes, while Gregory Winter and George Smith take the prize for their work on phage display of peptides and antibodies
Getty/AFP
12/20 Nobel prize for laser physicists
The nobel prize for physics has been awarded to three physicists working with lasers. Arthur Ashkin (L) was awarded for his “optical tweezers” which use lasers to grab particles, atoms, viruses and other living cells. Donna Strickland and Gérard Mourou were jointly awarded the prize for developing chirped-pulse amplification of lasers
Reuters/AP
13/20 Discovery of a new species of dinosaur
The Ledumahadi Mafube roamed around 200 million years ago in what is now South Africa. Recently discovered by a team of international scientists, it was the largest land animal of its time, weighing 12 tons and standing at 13 feet. In Sesotho, the South African language of the region in which the dinosaur was discovered, its name means “a giant thunderclap at dawn”
Viktor Radermacher / SWNS
14/20 Birth of a planet
Scientists have witnessed the birth of a planet for the first time ever.
This spectacular image from the SPHERE instrument on ESO’s Very Large Telescope is the first clear image of a planet caught in the very act of formation around the dwarf star PDS 70. The planet stands clearly out, visible as a bright point to the right of the center of the image, which is blacked out by the coronagraph mask used to block the blinding light of the central star.
ESO/A. Müller et al
15/20 New human organ discovered that was previously missed by scientists
Layers long thought to be dense, connective tissue are actually a series of fluid-filled compartments researchers have termed the “interstitium”.
These compartments are found beneath the skin, as well as lining the gut, lungs, blood vessels and muscles, and join together to form a network supported by a mesh of strong, flexible proteins
Getty
16/20 Previously unknown society lived in Amazon rainforest before Europeans arrived, say archaeologists
Working in the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso, a team led by archaeologists at the University of Exeter unearthed hundreds of villages hidden in the depths of the rainforest.
These excavations included evidence of fortifications and mysterious earthworks called geoglyphs
José Iriarte
17/20 One in 10 people have traces of cocaine or heroin on fingerprints, study finds
More than one in 10 people were found to have traces of class A drugs on their fingers by scientists developing a new fingerprint-based drug test.
Using sensitive analysis of the chemical composition of sweat, researchers were able to tell the difference between those who had been directly exposed to heroin and cocaine, and those who had encountered it indirectly.
Getty
18/20 Nasa releases stunning images of Jupiter’s great red spot
The storm bigger than the Earth, has been swhirling for 350 years. The image’s colours have been enhanced after it was sent back to Earth.
Pictures by: Tom Momary
19/20 A 3D reconstruction of an African grey parrot post euthanasia
Included in Wellcome Image Awards, this 3D image of an African grey parrot shows the highly intricate system of blood vessels.
Scott Birch. Wellcome Images
20/20 Baby Hawaiian bobtail squid
Another Wellcome Images Award winner, this time of baby Hawaiian bobtail squid. The black ink sac and light organ in the centre of the squid’s mantle cavity can be clearly seen.
Macroscopic Solutions. Wellcome Images
Ten piglets were born, of which two were so-called chimeras.
The monkey cells made up only one in 1,000 and one in 10,000 of the remaining pig cells.
The scientists are aiming to repeat the experiments to create healthy animals with higher concentrations of monkey DNA and to eventually reproduce an animal with an organ containing only monkey DNA.
The research paper, published in Protein and Cell, said the results brought the team “one step closer to producing tissue-specific functional cells and organs in a large animal model…”
This is not the first time hybrid animals have been created, in 2010, a team at Stanford University in California, created mice with a rat pancreas.
In 2017, researchers at the Salk Institute in California created pig-human chimeras with around one in 100,000 cells being human. The embryos were destroyed within a month.
More than 6,000 patients are currently on the waiting list for organs in the UK with around three people a day dying due to a lack of organs, according to the NHS Blood and Transplant organisation.
