Dictionary definition -
Science Fiction: fiction based on imagined future scientific or technological advances, and major social or environmental changes.
Maybe that should read' scary' changes for any non scientific human being, because some things I read about make me worry for the future of human kind. Scientists are very clever people. They have helped to make amazing leaps and advances in many areas, and have improved the life of man in awe inspiring ways. But, and this is a big but, sometimes some of those scientists just waver too close to the point of discomfort for the average person. There is an ethical line which I feel is being crossed in some countries, whether in the interests of science or something more unsettling.
Today I read an article about some scientists in China who have been injection monkey brains with human cells. That is injecting living monkey's brains. Now, I object totally to experimenting on animals. I think it is unethical and disrespectful of any living being, and in our day and age of advancement we can do better than that. We are able to replicate so much that it should not be necessary to use living animals any more. Animals are not humans, therefore any tests could not be used to compare with possible results on humans. Any scientist who says that they do anything like this to test the boundaries of science is a vile being. Even medical research on animals makes me extremely uneasy and uncomfortable, and I do not see any reason for it.
Apparently six of the monkeys in the experiment died. Great! The five that survived seemed to exhibited better short term memory, and a shorter reaction time, than that of their wild counterparts. Great. So these are tame monkeys too. The scientists are doing the research to see what makes humans unique, rather than for medical research. Not that it would make me feel any better if it was. There have been uneasy ripples throughout the scientific community about this Chinese experiment, and there should jolly well should be ripples amongst us too. They are changing animals, and making them something they are not. These scientists are humanizing primates, and we are getting closer to the probability of a genetic chimera than ever before. The scientists justify their research by stating that they are helping towards the evolution of mankind. Well I don't want a mechanic unethical evolution of man. We should develop and grow at a natural rate without any tweaking from any man in a white coat, thank you very much.
The real risk with experimenting like this is that, some where along the line, animals such as monkeys will show a consciousness similar to humans. Now I think animals have far more of an awareness that some people give them credit for anyway. They are able to make decisions of their own accord. They like and dislike. They show love and hate, and if you disagree with me there you have never seen one of my cats and his mother. She loathed him with a passion, and they barely managed to live together in our house without her giving him a swipe across the head every time he walked past. Yet she adored, and spent a lot of time, with our other cat. Just like humans, animals gravitate towards some of their own kind more than others. They have their own language that they understand, and they communicate with each other. They dream. Yes they really do, and you only have hear an animal whimper or kick it's legs in it's sleep to know something is happening in their minds. They feel fear and pain. That is a no brainer, and it's not just instinct. There are some nasty people around and I've seen too much on social media!
But there are some defining characteristics which make humans and animals different and therefore make us responsible for the animals on this earth. Such experimentation as the ones the Chinese scientists are doing is beyond contempt. They are fiddling with the future of not just mankind, but the animal kingdom too. Ever seen Planet of the Apes? Suddenly that doesn't seem like a fictional film any more does it? It could be closer than you think!
https://www.technologyreview.com/s/613277/chinese-scientists-have-put-human-brain-genes-in-monkeysand-yes-they-may-be-smarter/
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