Japan has approved experiments on hybrid embryos of animals and humans

A Japanese stem cell scientist will receive help from his country's government to create animal embryos containing human cells with the ultimate goal of generating new sources of organs for transplantation in humans. reported the scientific journal Nature.

Hiromitsu Nakauchi, who heads research teams at universities in Tokyo and Stanford, California, will cultivate human cells in mouse and rat embryos and transplant them into "surrogate animals."

"The ultimate goal of Nakauchi is to produce animals with organs made up of human cells that can eventually be transplanted into humans," said the magazine, which also warned that research "must overcome ethical hurdles and techniques".

Nakauchi is the first scientist to have received help from his country's government to experiment with hybrid embryos. Last March, this country canceled the ban on creating animal embryos containing human cells.