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anubi writes:

A few days ago, SN ran a story on human-pig chimeras.

Here's another story about mouse-rat chimeras providing insight on a problem that's plaguing many of us... diabetes and other pancreas-related issues.

From the story:

Growing human organs in other animals is a small step closer to reality.

While human-animal chimera work is still in its infancy (and faces ethical and funding hurdles, see sidebar), hybrids of rats and mice are already hinting that growing an organ from one species in another is a viable strategy for curing some diseases. Researchers report January 25 in Nature that they grew mouse pancreases in rats. Mouse insulin-producing cells were extracted from the rat-grown organs and transplanted into diabetic mice, curing their diabetes. Transplanted cells kept the mice's blood sugar normal for more than a year even though the mice were not given immune-suppressing drugs to prevent rejection after the first five days following the transplant. That finding raises the hope that animal-grown organs tailored to individual patients could be transplanted without fear of rejection.

Hopefully, these guys succeed!

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