From: Damien Broderick (d.broderick@english.unimelb.edu.au)
Date: Tue Jul 23 2002 - 22:48:27 MDT
Strike me bloody pink, Mabel!
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/23/opinion/23KRIS.html?todaysheadlines=&pagew
anted=print&position=top
by NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
In a secret, locked barn near DeForest, five black-and-white calves look up
from their hay with huge, friendly eyes. No. 313 approaches, as if to grant
an interview, for these are not the ordinary bovines they seem — all five
are part human.
The five calves are clones, which is eerie enough. In addition, human DNA
was added to their genetic makeup when they were embryos.
Their DNA is still more than 99.9 percent bovine, less than 0.1 percent
human [blah whimsy blah]
=============
What Mr Kristof and most people don't seem to understand is how much
`human' DNA is always shared with rats, flies and slugs. I don't happen to
have an estimate handy for cows (humans and pigs have 80% of their DNA in
common), but I'd be surprised if less than 70% were already shared. If an
animal becomes `humanoid' because of `less than 0.1 percent' of genetic
material transvectored from a human, the whole bleating world is full of
citizens.
Anyone with the good oil on the actual percentage might consider sending in
a brief letter to the NYT editor.
Damien Broderick
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